Torture from the Devil Woman: Ultimecia
by DarkWriter00
Summary: Here it is, my darkest fanfiction in general. There's an attempt of a summary inside, but I can't really make it good. The plot's complicated. WARNING: This is really really dark stuff. There's gore, angst, freaky scary stuff in this fic.
1. All Gone Wrong

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DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Squaresoft. Though I do own myself, and my ideas as I write this Fanfic. I also do not own any of the song lyrics selected for each chapter. You know the drill!

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Introduction: From within the game world of Final Fantasy 8, Sorceress Edea discovers the outside of the game disc, the outside of the television screen through the eyes of an unfortunate pawn to her evil plans of world domination…

Well, that's the best summary that I can come up with! Anyway, one more thing. Anything that's typed up like this are the song lyrics I insert out of my CD collection. The song lyrics I used in the first chapter are from Sevendust's "Disease", off of their new album Seasons!

Torture From the Devil Woman: Ultimecia

Chapter 1: All Gone Wrong

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Tattoo the world! Change Everything!

Save the world for me! Tattoo the world…

Sorceress Edea was sitting on her black metal throne, which she had no use for anymore. The dark green cushion, supporting her bottom. Her china doll face, placid. Nothing on her features seemed to be moving, but her light pink lips. A sorceress in her prime, she was in so much focus that her knight, Seifer Almasy, was ignored. Selective hearing was a specialty when it came to becoming in control of them both. _Never show a knight any weaknesses_, the treacherous woman had always told herself. _Show one little trace of weakness to Seifer, and he would walk all over you._

This was Edea's point of view of life: a chess game. Only she had her own board, and made her own moves whenever she wanted. Seifer, her knight piece, was always chosen to take out the pieces of the opponents', the side of good's, one by one, wiping them clear off the board. If it were a real game of chess, no doubt would her competitor would catch her cheating. The sorceress would just smile, move her favorite chess piece with a simple lift and take another piece from her rival. "This is my game, and you play by my rules," she'd say, softly smiling, with a calm expression to send chills up her opponent's spine. And now, she was considering on giving up her favorite chess piece. She felt he was to be no importance to her plans any longer.

The room seemed to be a castle setting. A throne room. On the floor in front of her, on the flat stone floor, a long rectangular and green carpeting was there for decoration. The border design gave this nature colored accessory a dark feel. Black flames. Dark grey boots were stepping all over the rug's center, back and forth. The young man, the troublesome teenager who worn them had been transformed into a dark character only three hours ago. His face showed a look of impatience. "Do you _mind _ explaining to me what the hell you think you're doing?" he demanded of "his" sorceress. Once again, he was ignored, shut out of her plans. Left in the rest of the darkness of this room. If he wasn't so easily influenced under Edea's dark magic powers, then he wouldn't even WANT to become her knight. Sure, he had this foolish dream of becoming a Sorceress Knight, but he would have never expected anything like this. Was the real Seifer even alert in there? Was he aware that he was serving a sorceress hell bent on plotting something very wicked?

For over two years, he was known as a problem to those who took him in to be trained as a soldier, and a mercenary. At the age of sixteen, Seifer had begun to hate authority, and blew it off by his smug attitude. He'd question why, ignorance being bliss. Add the power of a sorceress, and no one would want to be around Almasy at all, now currently at the age of eighteen. At this time, he was considered to be dangerous. Even the diagonally left dark red line on his face, from the bridge of his nose, and stopping just before entering the cheek, would intimidate innocent civilians that would cross his path.

His sandy blond hair was gelled and brushed back, except for a few short rebel strands. They proudly dangled in front of his forehead. The irises of Seifer's eyes seemed to close to blending in with the rest of the whites, the distinct glow being the exception. This is known to happen when one is possessed by a sorceress like Edea. The color of the irises would glow to a lighter color than usual. In Seifer's case he had a light icy blue green color that seemed to want to give a cold stare and freeze the burning torches mounted on the walls. The only light dim enough to even see through the darkness, physically. Spiritually and mentally? That was something totally different.

The rest of his attire was a soiled, long white trench coat, hiding the sheath of his gunblade, a long, dark silver blade that slightly tilted forward in an angle. There also was a trigger handle, which shot the bullets. Being cut and shot seems to be a bit much for pain, but it suited Almasy fine. A shining silver cross necklace adorned his neck, resting on top of his dark blue shirt underneath the coat.. This wasn't considered to be a holy relic to him, and the cross pendant itself was large and thin, as if two metal needles were fused together. There were red crosses on the sleeves on his coat as well.

As the situation drifts back at the sorceress again, the question Seifer had asked from before remained burning like a flame on a candle, within his own mind. What exactly was Edea becoming so focused on? The air seemed to be vibrating between her fingers. She began mouthing words that could not be heard by anyone. In her mind, only Edea could hear them. _Come to me, my child… Come to me, my key. You shall see what's to become of you…_

In another world, or dimension, a woman ten years younger was trying to sleep. _"Come to me, my child… Come to me, my key. You shall see what's to become of you…"_ two voices in one had called within her mind. One sounded dark and low toned. …And eerie. The other sounded like a woman's voice to Marianne as she felt the temperature around her slightly increase. Even the small fan she groped to turn on didn't seem to blow it away with its mechanical breath. From what now seemed to be around in the low eighty degree mark was rising. As she was forced to become awake, there was such a brightness that her eyelids quickly closed and felt her body mass to grow light. "What the…" Marianne heard herself mumble as she felt a floating sensation for a few seconds, the temperature quickly decreasing to the sixties.

She felt something a little fuzzy below the palms of her hands, but soft as the light was fading. "What the HELL?!" a male voice shrieked as her eyes opened up slowly. The first thing she had seen was an arm in a dirty white sleeve. The black gloved hand pulled out a large sword looking weapon and pointed it to her throat. She heard his aggressive, angry voice once again to look into the face of the wielder. "Who is she, Sorceress?! What the fuck is going on?!" Amongst the dim light from the flickering torches, Marianne instantly recognized his face. _…HOLY SHIT, is that Seifer?!_ The scar was definitely noticeable for one thing. His face…oh my God. She instantly recognized it. From within her copy of the Final Fantasy 8 game. He looked so real…creepy! Really creepy, how she can hear and see him quite clearly. _This must be a dream…but I can't know I'm dreaming within a dream. That's not how it usually is!_ Marianne thought. As Seifer kept a firm hold of the handle of his Hyperion, the name of his gunblade, to her neck, he had a good look of her. Curly, thick brown hair that was a little disheveled. Her blue green eyes had shown him fear, which part of him enjoyed. She wasn't exactly the woman of his dreams, but looked plain. Just average. Her thick boned form was trembling in her white T-shirt and comfortable blue jeans. Marianne's favorite brand, by the way. Old Navy.

Edea had stood up, calm and in self control. She knew that her "key" to escaping to the girl's world, Earth, would be in shock. She knew that Seifer would feel just the same. As the sorceress observed the scene, Marianne slowly stood on her feet, eyes wide open now. "No…way…" Edea heard her say in a tense, low voice, staring at Almasy. The frightened young woman turned her head as she recognized the older woman walk toward her. Almasy was furious. He disapproved of being kept in the dark of her evil plot. He turned his head toward the evil one, telling him what to do. "Answer me, damn it!!! Who-" "Seifer…" the peculiar woman said, firmly. The way she said it was a calm warning, voice being in control. Seifer fell silent, but his mood remained. That's all it took. Just a firm tone of voice from Edea's glossed lips whenever Almasy was in one of his usual moods, and he would shut up and cool down.

"…Edea?" Marianne wavered, voice unstable. She felt the carpeting beneath her feet, so that was real. She heard Almasy's intense breathing, the breeze reaching to touch her face. That seemed real too. "W-what am I doing here?" she asked. Sorceress Edea softly smiled, making the girl feel uneasy. Marianne noticed her face from the cinema sequences from the game she's had been playing since spring break of this year. The seashell decoration in her hair. The dark dress, that had a color matched feather collar trim. "Marianne," Edea called, much to Marianne's disbelief. _Oh shit, she knows my name! What the hell is going on?!_ was the thought that suddenly spread across her brain as the other female explained, "I brought you here for a trade. I know deep in your desires you always wanted to be here… In return, you'll give up your world to me." What was mentioned by the lady Marianne had recognized from the one game she had been addicted to the past few months didn't make sense to her. "What?" was her automatic response. Edea quickly placed one of her gloved hands on Marianne's forehead as she sent the images, in between flashes of light.

FLASH! It was daytime in Marianne's bedroom as she felt her head coming down to look at the game's case. Seifer's, Rinoa's, and Squall's faces were on the front. Blending in with the white background was a picture of Edea herself. FLASH! The TV screen. She could _feel_ the game controller in both of her hands, and herself sitting on the edge of her bed as she saw the familiar digitalized characters on the TV. A guy in a fur trim collar leather jacket, A spiky blond in baggy light blue shorts and red and blue shirt. A tall, skinny female in pink and peach attire, running in what looked like- FLASH!

In the after effect of those memories, Marianne felt inwardly dizzy for a few moments. But it hit her hard, and quick. "You know…?!" she yelled, shocked. Edea replied, voice not rising or falling, "Yes. I know what this world really is. I've known about you and Earth for quite some time. …Now it is time for me to leave." "Wha…? NO!" the blue green eyed girl realized it was real and happening. It angered her. "I won't let you step an INCH in my world!!!" The edge of Seifer's Hyperion touched her throat. If she dared to move a step forward, he would cut her open like a fish.

Edea took one last look at Seifer, saying, "I won't be having a use for you any longer. I release you from knighthood." Almasy's smug, smirking face remained for a moment longer as Marianne had seen him. In the next few seconds, he had a look of surprise. The glow in his eyes had faded, showing his real eye color. It was blue green. Sometimes it looked more greenish, other times more bluish, depending on the temperature. If it were cold, Seifer's eyes would look more blue than green. Vice versa in warm weather.

Marianne turned to Edea, who stood a few feet from them, eyes closed and concentrating. Her lips mouthed words that Marianne or Seifer could not read. "No, stop RIGHT THERE!!!" Marianne said, quickly taking action, moving past the one who once held her back. Almasy was confused, looking upon the two. Edea's eyes opened, glowing from dark brown to firey red as she said. "You cannot stop me, child… The spell is complete." She moved a hand in front of her as Marianne felt a strong gust of wind push her to the floor, landing on her back. "NO!!!" she screamed as Edea had vanished in a few sparks of light, leaving no trace of herself behind. "Accept my former knight as a parting gift," were her last words.

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The truth has died, and the world you wanted to find

There was nothing, nothing but the unforgiven!

What you gonna do for me?

What you gonna do for me?

What you gonna do for me?!

WHAT YA GONNA DO?!

Everything had happened too fast for Almasy that he didn't have a clue as to what the hell was going on. He had lowered his gunblade, and held it by his side. The girl sat up on the carpet beside him. She was taken back by what just happened. Also too fast for Marianne to handle. From her arrival to Edea's disappearance up to this point, she felt her voice pinch up, and her vision began to blur by her upcoming tears. Almasy looked upon her, saying, "Whoa…are you okay?!" He knew what kind of magic spell the older woman had used to push this frightened girl away. "No…" she whimpered. She blinked to see more clearly, as the first two tears began to drip down her cheeks. She wasn't paying much attention to the other person Edea left behind. "Shit," she cursed under her breath. On pure gut instinct, Marianne found out that Edea had switched places with her. Edea would screw her world over now. …Not if she did something to stop her.

Seifer looked down, and put away his Hyperion. He offered his hand as Marianne looked up at him. She began to sob as she figured that he was harmless, and wasn't under Edea's control anymore. It was definitely clear by the eye color. The six foot tall blond helped her to stand. "Seifer, you have to help me," Marianne immediately said to him, voice quivering. He flinched in reaction. He must have blacked out or something, because he didn't know where he was, or how he got into this room. He certainly didn't remember meeting _her_. "How…how do you know my name? I certainly haven't met you before in my life." Seifer wanted to know.

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Damn, he doesn't know what Edea knows!! Marianne mentally yelled in brief observation, agitated. "Ah shit," Marianne scolded herself for blurting out his name in the first place. As Almasy looked at her, she looked pretty afraid. "I…uh…" she fidgeted, trying to improvise something. _DO_ _NOT HAVE THE DAMN TIME! Pull yourself together! You have to stop Edea from screwing your home world over!!!_ she silently screamed to herself as she added to Seifer, "No time for that!!! We have to stop Edea!" As she ran towards the door of Edea's throne room, amazed of the sudden self control, she wished she had shoes on because her bare feet touched the cold stone floor, as she had done before in trying to prevent Edea to escape. The first step made her shiver, as if first stepping inside the water of a swimming pool or an ocean. Seifer didn't have a choice but to follow her.

"Edea?! Was that the bitch who cast that Aero spell on you?" he demanded, running beside this strange girl. "Yeah!" Marianne quickly answered him. She always looked forward, focusing on nothing but to stop the sorceress from ruling over the world she's ever known her whole life. "Fuck, she's switched places with me, and I don't know how she even knows what I know!" She tried to guess where she exactly was on Earth, but had no idea. Panic had broken the walls of self control like water busting through a pile of bricks! This couldn't be happening. She wasn't supposed to BE here. "Where the hell are we anyway?!" The castle setting didn't seem to fade off as she was running forward and out of the corridor. "How the hell should I know?! I thought you would!!" Almasy admitted. He didn't have a clue, and really wanted to, but he couldn't remember a damn thing while being under Edea's control. The last thing he remembered was the woman talking to him, calling him "boy", in which he strongly disliked.

"She brought me here, and I don't know where HERE is!" Marianne yelled to him, tears being the obstacle of clearly seeing forward. She could kind of see a glass door. Could that be the exit to this strange place?

There was a bit of a commotion going on outside. Seifer was the only one out of the two who could crystal clearly see what was going on, while Marianne could only hear the noise in the background. There was a cheering crowd, glittery confetti tossed into the air as fancy costumed people danced in the streets, followed by a float. Marianne wiped away her tears as she approached the glass door and pushed it open. "What the fuck is goin' on…?" Seifer cursed. He witnessed this girl was trying to stop a sorceress from escaping off to Hyne knows where, and now he was seeing a fucking parade?!

Marianne recalled this part, the parade in Deling City. _…DELING CITY! That's where we are. The parade… Edea's parade. No Edea. SQUALL AND IRVINE!_ The thoughts came to her as she realized that she had been put into the first Final Fantasy 8 game disc by Edea. They came so fast she didn't even realize how alert she had become of this bizarre situation. _MUST FIND SQUALL. He'll help me, I know it! _As soon as she opened the door, the two people she wanted to see just ran right past her. She chased in pursuit after them. This was something she didn't have one single second thought over. Two of the game world's heroes would definitely want to know about where the evil woman went, and that since they were RIGHT THERE, feet away in front of her… Who else could she really think of to turn to in a crazy, insane situation such as this?!

She instantly recognized the guy in the black leather, white fur trim collar jacket, followed by a taller male in a black cowboy hat and light brown trench coat, as long as Seifer's. "HEY! Irvine!! Squall!!" She tried to yell over the crowd to get their attention. Obviously, Squall and Irvine could not hear her and didn't stop running, because of the noisy cheering voices surrounding her.

Seifer recognized Squall's jacket from anywhere, and wanted to know why this strange girl was chasing them. He thought, _perhaps THEY know what the fuck's going on._ From that moment, he decided to help call to them. "HEY!!! SQUALL!!!" Almasy hollered.

Squall Leonhart, running just a step ahead of Irvine, stopped in his tracks to turn around and look past Irvine. _Seifer!_ Irvine Kinneas turned around too, following his gaze. Leonhart felt his features twist into annoyance from surprise. He saw the girl walk out of the building, and call after him and Irvine, but didn't really pay attention. Didn't want to pay attention, because he was so focused on his mission to assassinate Sorceress Edea. When another voice called to him, that was the time to stop and turn around.

Before anyone else could say anything, the parade was slowing down to a stop. "HEY, EDEA'S NO ON HER FLOAT!!" a guy's voice screeched from far away. The crowd around Marianne, Seifer, Squall, and Irvine quieted down to mutterings of suspicion. Marianne saw that the shouting one was a soldier dressed in blue, wearing a gray helmet. _Galbadian soldier!_ the alarm went off in her brain, as she turned back around to face the guy who got the two other young men to stop running. "Thank you," she quickly told Seifer as she briskly walked up to the two other guys in front of them. "Howdy," Irvine greeted with a gentle smile, but noticed her tear stained eyes, causing him to feel concerned. The smile faded as quickly as it came. "Who are you?" Squall asked her, really confused as to why she was with Seifer. _Can't you see that guy could be a threat to you?! This person must be mad too!_ From the last time Squall had seen Almasy, Quistis had followed him out of Balamb Garden. He was in an outrage, about to wreck some havoc, until he walked off somewhere unseen. Well, unseen to him, Zell, Selphie, Quistis, and Rinoa. Seifer had tried to kill President Deling, and was thought to be executed! What Squall was witnessing was quite a surprise.

"What's with the damn parade?! Why did it stop?!" Almasy yelled, frustrated that he was not being answered at all. "My name is Marianne," she managed to say to Squall, shoving Seifer's demands to the side. The tone of her voice was still unstable, but sounded real urgent as tears were starting to fall down her face. This was her favorite game character she was talking to, who looked real. Acted real as her. _Oh God, I'm actually talking to Squall…_ "Edea's gone. She, she brought me here and…" She wanted to say what she needed to say right away, but felt like she was going to explode. Everything was flying over her head that at anytime soon, she would start to hyperventilate.

Squall and Irvine were taken back by what she said. "Where is she?" Squall asked Marianne, hoping she would know of the sorceress' whereabouts. _What is her connection with Edea anyway?_ To his luck, she did know where Edea went. Regaining her breath, she tried to continue. "Must…stop…Edea…" Irvine placed a hand on her shoulder. "Alright, just calm down. Before you give yourself a heart attack!" he advised to her. Seifer, not wanting to be the odd man out, filled in his input. He suddenly realized that being a Sorceress Knight was something he didn't want anymore. He didn't like having to be blacked out in whatever Edea had done to him. "She was trying to stop her from leaving, but the bitch cast an Aero spell and disappeared!" "What?!" Squall reacted, not happy about this at all. He and Irvine were supposed to shoot her down, and the mission had failed! _Damn it! _ he fumed inwardly to himself._ Cid wouldn't be happy about this either…_ Marianne shoved Kinneas' comforting arm away as she said, "I don't know what's really going on, but she knows about where I'm actually from…which is a different world." She was trying to semi-block out what Seifer was telling them, and had to quickly think up a small lie. _They don't even deserve to know that they're game characters! Just manipulate the truth!_

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Do I care anymore if there's a new beginning?

The simple plan is broken every time it's given…

"Another WORLD?!" Seifer felt his voice rise up a pitch as he gave a shout in disbelief. "It's true, I am from a world called Earth, and Edea wants to take it over. I-I-I don't know how she found out about me, but she did!!" Marianne panicked, putting all of her faith on the three guys surrounding her. Her words came out all at once, not wanting to waste time at all! Earth was in danger…. Her mom and dad…. Everyone she knew and cared about over there were at risk to chaos. Two things were pulling her apart. She knew what was going on in this game world, which she didn't even know was REAL! She was worried about going home and stopping the sorceress too. It was all a mass of chaos to her.

"Please, you guys gotta help me." she pleaded of them. Squall gave a nod, eyes narrowing, but trusting her. In watching her try to explain to them what happened, with Seifer's help, he could see she was panicking, looking really scared. Pure honesty. Leonhart never saw someone that scared in his life, and she was scaring _HIM_. _She looks terrified. I don't think she's lying, _he told himself in thought. "But, how do we get to your world, where ever it is?! I don't see any spaceship around here." Irvine pointed out. He was cut off by the screaming civilians behind him as he saw and heard Marianne scream with a look of pure terror.****


	2. A Near Death Experience

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NOTE to Rinoa fans: I just want to make this loud and clear. You may not like what happens in this chapter, but note that Ms. Heartilly's not totally gone from this story! And I wrote this chapter out to make sense, so it's not a careless blood bath. Chapter 2 is written out to be gruesome and gory because…well… Didn't I tell ya that this story was dark from the very beginning when you looked in the main FF8 fic menu?! Lol.

Song lyrics used: "My Tourniquet" by Evanescence

Chapter 2: A Near Death Experience

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My God, my tourniquet! Return to me Salvation…

Seifer, along with Marianne, looked ahead of them. Irvine and Squall had no choice but to look too, afraid by her terrified scream. By the loudness of her voice, she signaled that they were in deep shit if they didn't look. The upcoming event was an image that would haunt Marianne's mind in memory for a long time, if not forever.

Two monsters leapt off the building Marianne knew Squall and Irvine would climb. Most of their bodies looked like a huge iguana. Their back feet, lower back, and tail were that of a lion. Iguions. Yes, the name made sense. When they landed on the ground, they had ripped a young screaming woman in half as if she were made of paper. From there, the screaming came to an abrupt halt when a batch of her blood below the beasts splattered all over the sidewalk. "RINOA!!!" Seifer and Irvine screamed, instantly recognizing the figure that was now dead and eaten. Squall had a look of horror on his face, and looked away. This was such a terrible sight to see that his voice had temporarily left him, and almost felt like throwing up. This hit Marianne like a sledgehammer to the heart, which was beating so rapidly, as if it wanted to burst out of her chest and scamper down the street, straight out of the _Alien_ movies she has seen on her home world.

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I tried to kill the pain, but only brought more…

So much more…

She knew it was her fault in stopping Squall and Irvine from completing their mission. Her arrival had caused Rinoa's death. This was definitely beyond Marianne's control. It was like time speeding by, against this one person. She never wanted to be here in the first place. Edea was so wrong about her "desires." The witch only said that as an excuse! Marianne felt as if her heart leapt up to her throat, as if it were unable to break through the rib cage and planned on an escape route through the mouth. She may have been unable to speak, but her entire brain was screaming in the horror of it all.

Seifer and Irvine already decided it was time to run, seeing that the scared-as-hell crowd ahead were very smart, them seemingly dumbfounded at first. Squall stopped to get the girl who knew where Edea was. Marianne had frozen in fear, too afraid to move. Too afraid to even scream anymore. A fleeing pedestrian had knocked her backwards to the sidewalk. Leonhart instantly rushed over to help her up. He held a good grip of one of her hands as he led her away from the mouths of the Iguions. The heads reminded Marianne of Godzilla, for the nineties version movie monster, and once thought as fictional monsters had a close resemblance of each other.

Everyone, as in the crowd of the parade, Seifer, Marianne, Squall, and Irvine, seemed to be running towards the Deling City gate. Fear was sweeping over them like a plague and had taken control of their minds. Irvine and Seifer stopped in upon reaching the gate. Kinneas knew, or at least assumed that his fellow team members: Quistis, Zell, and Selphie, were inside. Seifer followed, hoping that the murderous monsters would realize they couldn't fit through the door that was much too small for them. Squall and Marianne went inside last, herself out of breath. Leonhart could see that she was really, really afraid. As he observed, she trembled, looking at him, not knowing what to think or say. Everything was whooshing by her so fast. And by a really big whoosh. If Squall hadn't led her to safety, no doubt at all the Iguions would have seen her as another snack item, and he would never know about what really happened to her and Edea. And that was all he was interested in…right? A part of him, deep down inside his own shell, burst on through to his brain, trying to tell him that this was not. Leonhart inwardly cursed himself for that.

Ever since he was thirteen and a half, he made a choice. A choice to control his own emotions, and lock them up inside of himself. Not wanting to be hurt anymore. Not wanting his own…_feelings_…to be wasted on someone or something else. He was hurt twice: being orphaned by his parents, who he suspected were dead. And by a girl who he looked up to as a sister. He was not going to be hurt again. Not anymore… This strange, frightened female had brought back the memory of being afraid so much as a young five year old. Bringing out a small part of him from his outer shell. Squall hated it. _I don't ever WISH to be in her affairs. That will never happen. No matter how frightened or in how much danger she is, I only want to know what happened to her and Edea._

Irvine grabbed a hold of and rode the rising chain up to a frightened trio of comrades. "Irvine!! What the HELL is going on?!" demanded the spiked blond, a black tattoo on his left side on his face that looked like some kind of odd shaped and burnt up plant. Or a dark, shadowy monster… A curvy body, and jagged wings. Everyone inside the gate's walls felt the earthquake, signaling that the Iguions were very close by. "We have to get out of here!" a petite young woman with long golden blonde hair said for everyone up near the gate switch as they rode the nearby elevator down a level to meet up with Squall, Seifer, and Marianne, watching the walls in front of them beginning to crack. The monsters were going to make the gate collapse!

The group of human beings went outside, making the Iguions stop in using their front feet as battering rams against the other side of the wall. Irvine made the first move of the battle by drawing magic from one of them. A small squeak had erupted through Kinneas' mind. Was he imagining it? The squeak came again, and showed him an image of a creature. Something awfully cute and cuddly, pale blue green blubbery skin. A ruby was shown on its forehead. _That's gotta be Carbuncle_, the Galbadian cowboy suspected. _Those boring GF lessons sure pay off in the long run…_

"Let's kick some ASS!!" That shout was made by Seifer, agreeing to bring the beasts down. Squall began to unsheathe his Revolver gunblade. Quistis grabbed hold of her chain whip, wrapped around one of her arms. Zell had been ready, using nothing but his own body as a weapon, in learning the martial arts as a skill. Selphie Timlitt, the short girl in the yellow dress, had her weapon out too. Dincht recognized everyone, but the girl in t-shirt and blue jeans. "YO! What about that chick?!" he yelled, jerking his thumb to point her out. That was Marianne, backing up in sheer terror as the Iguions banged their front feet against the stone and metal wall one more time, causing a much bigger crack over the smaller one already made. The wall began to crumble.

It was a hailstorm of rock and steel all around Marianne, who was automatically helpless and put herself into this. She moved as a huge chunk of dried cement landed right in front of her. The rest of the wall had broken down into various sized projectiles, varying from small pebbles to large boulders. And they all piled in on top of Marianne, cutting into her skin and bruising her. A medium sized rock slammed onto her right temple.

The others had moved back, having no choice but to save their own skins. The collapse had ended shortly, killing the Iguions in the process. In cause of their own carelessness, large boulders had hit both of their heads in a single deathblow. Their dark red blood spilled in a huge mass, the group minus Marianne running away from the gate to a safe distance.

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I lay dying, and I'm pouring crimson regret…

And betrayal… I'm dying…

Praying… Bleeding…and screaming.

Am I too lost to be saved? Am I too lost?

Seifer surprisingly was the first one to run up to the mess. It smelled of really rotten fish. "Marianne!!!" he yelled, his mind overridden by the shock and fear that took hold of him. _She only just arrived here, dammit! Marianne, you're much too important to die now!!!_ he panicked as he nearly slipped on the blood he was towering over. Within the rocks, he could hear female crying and that she was praying, "Oh God, help me…"

"Seifer!" Quistis called after him, followed by the others. Almasy was lifting rocks and tossing them aside, immediately. He just…snapped and panicked in saving Marianne's life! Squall went over and helped him, feeling like he didn't have a choice. Only she knows what's really going on with Edea, and Leonhart was so eager to find out. They all joined in quickly to save the poor young woman from the clutches of death. Marianne slowly got to her knees, trembling and crying in a state of shock. The palms of her hands and her clothes were stained with a mixture of her own blood and Iguion blood. As she looked down upon herself, she gasped in horror. Small cuts and bruises had shown themselves on her arms. A medium sized rock also hit the left side of her head, a vertical line of her blood dripping down. Her jeans and the front of her white t-shirt had been soaked in the red mixture. That God awful stench, she could never forget or push aside no matter how hard she tried.

Seifer helped her to her feet, and asked her if she was alright. She did not answer, but looked at him, a look of fear remaining on her face as Zell was a few feet behind them, asking her the same thing. "Cura," Almasy uttered as he waved a hand over Marianne as he was helping her out of the pile of rock. She closed her eyes momentarily as a blue orb of light circled around her, making the cuts and bleeding vanish. The small bruises on her arms and legs remained, but only the ones on her arms could be seen. There was a purple mark on the same spot where a piece of fallen wall had hit her head. Seifer, along with Zell's help, used some of the pieces as stepping stones for Marianne. To avoid stepping into the blood, seeing that she had no footwear on.

"Oh my Hyne!" Selphie cried as she watched the girl tremble and gasp in her heavy sobbing. Squall and Irvine seemed really surprised and amazed that Marianne had survived, also giving them space and room to let the two blond men lead the traumatized girl out of the rubble. "It's a damn miracle you lived girl!" Zell said to her as he helped lead her on a third boulder, Seifer helping as well. "That's it kid. Just a little further," he encouraged her, as she kept a hand on his already unclean trench coat for support. Almasy let out a grunt as he lifted her by the waist off the last step stone rock and safely onto the ground, free of puddles of Iguion blood. _Jeez girl, what the hell do you eat?!_ She was slightly heavier than his own damn gunblade!

In her quick reflexes, Marianne had her arms wrapped around Seifer in a hug. Her shivering appeared to be nonstop, scaring him to death. "Whoa…" he blurted, but he understood her actions. He understood her completely, and hugged her back. "Oh Hyne, you must be terrified." Quistis suspected as the two released of each other. Even Squall, deep inside his emotion controlled shell, was scared by looking at Marianne. _Damn, she's traumatized…Oh no….NO! That girl, Marianne if I heard right, did it again!_ His frightened look turned into a scowl, obviously not making the poor young lady feel any better, but he was mostly angry at himself. This stranger seemed to want to break down his inner walls like a wrecking ball on a crane!

Almasy knew that his clothes were bloodstained, but he wasn't fully aware of Marianne's actions at the time. She stared at him, mouth slightly open. He could hear her heart pounding and the beats have accelerated, causing her to breathe heavily through her shaky crying.

"Let's get out of here. This place really stinks!" Selphie said for everyone. At the same time, the group was surprised that Seifer was acting so different. Well, fear changes people in some ways. From seeing Marianne panicking from the first moment he saw her, Almasy had made it his duty to help her. Instantly, on impulse. He had an arm around her, gently coaxing her to come with him. She also said something about being in another world. _It's no wonder that she's so scared. Damn you Edea. How could you fucking do this to someone so innocent?!_ He paused in thought, remembering that she called him by his name before._ …How does she even know my name?_

After a moment of silence, Quistis Trepe took one last examination on Marianne and told everyone, "Her head… She must have been hit pretty hard on where the bruise is, meaning that there's a risk of her going into concussion." She turned to her. "What is your name?" Seifer answered. "This is Marianne. That Hyne damned Sorceress Edea brought her here." "She claims she's from another world," Irvine piped in. "She doesn't know why she's here or how Edea even knows about where she's from." "Holy crap man! Another world?!" Zell responded, as surprised as Seifer first was when Marianne first told him, Leonhart, and Kinneas. "Oh my Hyne, there's other humans out there besides us?!" Selphie quirked, eyes staring at Marianne's shaking form.

In observation, it became clear to Squall, reading through her emotions like looking through glass, that she wasn't going to answer anymore questions for now. He watched the tears fall down her face from walking beside the others. He also noted there was nobody else around, too busy to hide inside their homes from the Iguions. The sidewalks and streets were littered with confetti, junk food, and other various items. _Damn cowards,_ he scowled to himself, not believing how much Galbadia had become such cowards in putting faith into Sorceress Edea to lead them. _Some leader. She just planned out an escape route and fled to go into…Marianne's world. _ The fear of Marianne had caused him to suddenly give a damn. Why would he? Leonhart would never let anyone into his heart, protected by a hard shell that he assumed no one was able to look into. He was sure of it, but there was something he didn't know about Marianne. There were a lot of things he didn't know about Marianne, but was he eager to find out? Yes, he most certainly was. The suspicion of her was overwhelming on his cold as steel heart. _I can't ignore the fact that she needs help, and we're the only ones who are around._

The others seemed to herd around the scared one, concerned. Marianne couldn't believe all of this was really happening still. These people, she never knew they were as real as her. She couldn't even think straight. Literally freaking out, she didn't know for sure if she was ever going to go back home. Was Earth really doomed? By a freakin' sorceress?!

The memory of Rinoa's death also played over and over in her mind. The death of a person she never thought was real. And the blood. _So much blood… _She never been through such chaos. Not ever. The previous events overwhelmed her so much. Rinoa's death also was revolving around Seifer, who he had a relationship with, and he blew it. Completely. First he fled from Balamb Garden with Quistis tagging along behind him, to make sure no innocent people would get hurt and that he wouldn't do anything stupid. They ended up in Deling, remembering that promise to Rinoa, to liberate Timber from the President. How he tried to help her was foolish and not thoroughly planned out, like Heartilly's plan was. The sorceress saved him from execution by a thread. Now there was no way to make it up to Rinoa.

"We'll get you all cleaned up at the hotel, okay hun? A hot shower will do you good," Tilmitt soothed to Marianne, trying to be of comfort. Trying to reach her. "Hey, when we get ya to the hotel, I'll run over to the shopping center and get some fresh clean clothes for you and Seifer. Okay?" She watched as Marianne closed her eyes, and opened them again to produce more tears. _I think we all could use a good shower,_ Seifer thought, every now and then observing the newest member of the group. _We smell like we haven't bathed in over a year._

Zell felt like he was blown off the face of his own world and into the universe. The fact that other human beings outside of this world even existed had shaken him up. _This chick… She looks as normal as any other human being! I don't understand this at all._ His mind had a lot of questions for the newcomer, but he wasn't dumb. He knew he had to wait until Marianne was calm enough to talk again.

Quistis was being comforting in a non verbal way. She massaged one of Marianne's shoulders. The trembling Earth girl was trying so hard _not_ to focus her eyes on the blood she was covered in. She was trying so hard to push that fact aside, but couldn't. Calming down at a time like this felt impossible for her to do. The fear had taken over her body, and didn't realize that she was looking at Squall. He noticed, and Marianne focused her eyes to look at Quistis, quick before she would cringe of his intense stare downs, which she called a "hawk stare." Oh yes, only his eyes matched the ferocity of any bird of prey on her home world.

Then her eyes moved to Zell, who had the urge to say something, eyes wide open in examining how much of a mess Marianne was. "Wow, that bruise on your head sure looks nasty…" _Nice choice of words, Chicken Wuss,_ Seifer thought as he was keeping an eye out for anymore monsters. For Marianne's and everyone else's safety. "When we get to the hotel, we'll get ya an ice pack, okay Marianne?" Dincht added. He has been here before on vacation with his parents, and it was indeed a nice city to visit during the summer. As everyone made a left from moving away from the gate, he instantly knew that the group was heading for the hotel. At first he wasn't sure, and was just tagging along.

A Galbadian soldier in red armor with a metal device latched around his right arm, was standing around the corner of the street when he heard a set of footsteps. He turned and ran towards the sound. The group of civilians stopped. "Hold it right there! Where the hell did you people come from?!" he called, and found himself looking upon the slightly overweight girl in bloodstained jeans and t-shirt, and the bruise on her head was obvious.

Marianne instantly knew this soldier was known as an Elite Galbadian Soldier. She rested her arms on Seifer's shoulders and stood behind him for protection. Almasy looked over his shoulder at her. _Does she even know about the enemy soldiers? _ he wondered._ Nah…she can't know, idiot! She's just scared,_ answered the smug voice in his head. "What the… What the hell happened to you?!" the man in red demanded of Marianne out of shock. This guy also wore the same kind of helmet the soldiers in blue wore, she but had a better look of it this time. There were rubies on the front of the helmet, for nothing more than decoration.

"I'll handle this," Irvine said calmly for the group he was standing behind, and then stepped around and forward to face the elite soldier. He made a surprised facial expression for the one in red to see. "By Hyne, didn't you see those hideous monsters out there?!" "Where did they go? I'll be sure to radio in some troops immediately!" the Galbadian enemy interjected, and unclipped what looked like a walkie-talkie than was attached to his black leather belt. He had obviously seen the Iguions, and was also one of the patrollers of the parade. He was getting civilians to safety. "They're dead. The Deling City gate collapsed, and we were able to pull this girl out from the wreckage," Selphie stated calmly, helping the cowboy out. Tilmitt played along quite well with the innocent civilian routine and patted Marianne on the shoulder. "It's alright Marianne, he's not going to hurt us," she said, actually meaning that and playing her role at the same time. The soldier looked upon the terrified girl in concern. She endlessly trembled and was using Seifer as a human shield. "My Hyne, you look shaken up." He turned to the others. "Where are you going?" "We're taking her to the hotel, to get her cleaned up," Squall simply replied, keeping his expression blank and indifferent. _Believe it or not, Marianne's our only safe haven past him,_ he scowled to himself.

The soldier nodded and looked away from the young man in leather jacket, who secretly shot him another "hawk stare", as Marianne observed and mentally labeled. "Well, don't let me stop you then. You folks better take good care of her." The man in red armor nodded curtly towards Marianne, who had the courage to exchange a similar reaction. As Seifer and the group that kept her in safe hands past the man who she saw and knew was an enemy, she felt him give her a light pat on the shoulder and added in assurance. "You'll be just fine ma'mm." She twitched fearfully in reaction, not wanting to be touched by him at all. She didn't even want to say anything to him.

Before Marianne and the group not originally from Deling City could walk any farther, the Elite Galbadian soldier had one more thing to say. "You folks wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of Sorceress Edea, would you?" Only Marianne knew of it, but silently told herself to tell him squat. Otherwise she'd risk herself in danger and be taken away from Seifer and the others to be cooped up somewhere and interrogated. Possibly go through torture as well. _No way in freakin' hell am I going to allow that!_ she yelled inwardly in thought, really terrified of that possibility. She wasn't stupid, not at all. To hide her cover, she shook her head no rapidly. "We don't know where she is," said Quistis, enforcing an "I don't know" shrug of innocence. The soldier believed them, and had no other intention to bother them. He watched them as they resumed walking towards the hotel on the left side of the new street the others came to. Then he detached the walkie-talkie from his belt and talked into it. "Viper to Brick Sack, do you read me?" Brick Sack, because the blue armor patrolman through the other line had bricks for brains. "Gather the troops. We've got some cleaning up to do at Deling's Gate…"


	3. Consequences and Decisions

****

Back again with another chapter for ya all! First off, to my good friends AngelhearteD and The Water Goddess: Thanks for reviewing!!

-insert evil laughter here- Now, be prepared to ride the emotional roller coaster. Now is the time to get your tissue box before you get on. You might shed a tear… or two. And it's gonna be like that with the 4th Chapter too. 5 and 6 will be up next week. Keep your tissues by the PC for those as well.

Oh and one more thing. If you don't believe in God, and don't want to, that's perfectly fine. This is only a story, and my character and myself, believe in him. But still, doesn't that seem to rise a bit of interest, readers?

Song lyrics used: "Disgrace" by Sevendust (using the same album) and "Made for TV Movie" by Incubus, off their newest album, "A Crow Left of the Murder"! I highly recommend this one. REALLY, REALLY fun CD to listen to, in my opinion. Heck, all the lyrical content I insert come from all really awesome CDs I have! Hehe…

Chapter 3: Consequences and Decisions

****

Weighing down my soul…

The thought of it's too much, when I think about it all…

"I am so sorry. Most of the rooms are completely booked…but there is one room available," informed the woman by the counter of Deling City's hotel. She had also asked of what had happened, in noticing the blood soaked clothes of two of her customers. Selphie briefed her of it all like they've told the enemy soldier outside, except the fact of Marianne being originally coming from another world. The Balamb plus one Galbadian group instructed themselves to keep that bit of information secret, for the newcomer's sake.

Marianne was shifting her eyes to observe her surroundings. She knew the downward spiral stairs would lead to the bar. In the opposite direction, there were two large and brown wooden doors. The carpeting and walls seemed to match quite well. The walls were blue, and the carpeting was a slightly darker shade. It made most visitors calm and at ease whenever they entered. Marianne wasn't at ease by much, and was pretty tensed up and alert for anything. Then finally, she saw the elevator on the wall by the counter.

"I'm going to the shopping center," Selphie announced to everyone, including… "Marianne what size do you wear? Large? Extra large?" "Extra large," was the reply, in a shaky whisper, and avoiding eye contact. She was still pretty wound up inside from the life threatening events. Tilmitt walked up and moved a strand of Marianne's hair behind her ear in compassion before she rushed out into the streets.

Something clicked into Marianne's mind at the time while looking around. _Wait a minute…isn't there supposed to be one of those save points?_ She looked at the suspected spot where there was supposed to be a dark grayish gear, with golden yellow orange rings moving, spinning and intertwining around it, like the battery powered magnet toy she had found at a yard sale once, on Earth of course. Where the silver rings around the ball in the center would spin as the magnet swung back and forth. To be direct, the save point wasn't there. _This is really freaky… and scary. I can't believe this game world's real. Has it been real all along? …I don't even want to be here._

Seifer felt Marianne's hands release his shoulders, as he stood around bored and anxious to get a room. He turned to her, as she was focused on something, and followed her gaze to the carpet in front of them. "…What are you looking at?" he wondered of her, curious and concerned. Marianne felt herself jolt in place, like she was zapped by a few volts of electricity. "N-nothing," she stammered, and instinctively was about to wipe a tear off her face when she saw the blood on her fingers and palm. Some of it even dripped and stained the carpet. She looked at the lady by the counter, with an apologetic look, with eyes still wide open in the fear of all of what was happening. "It's alright sweetie," the hotel's owner soothed, showing her a kind smile. "Don't worry about it." Marianne had forgotten about that, the blood on her hands. Letting the hand drop to her side, she just blinked once, letting the lingering tear on her right cheek fall. She breathed in shakily, as she had done on the way up to the hotel. The memory of Rinoa Heartilly's death flashbacked inside her mind once again. This was way too much for her to handle.

Zell had turned toward her in concern as she spoke to Seifer's question from a moment earlier. Squall looked too, but more suspiciously because of how Marianne had said when she _was _looking down at the carpet, as if she were searching for something that wasn't there. He glanced at Almasy too, and noticed the two hand shaped bloodstains on the shoulders of his coat. Quistis began to hand out everyone's keycards. She stopped herself before giving one to Marianne. Trepe shortly glanced from her hands up to her face and said, "I'll hang onto this for you." Seifer replied for her, "Thanks, Quistis." It surprised Trepe that he had drastically changed…and so quickly too! She turned on one heel and watched him lead Marianne to the elevator, Squall and Zell joining them. This whole situation felt unreal to Trepe. Why was this even happening? _If only Rinoa were here too… I wonder where she is._ Once Irvine was getting on, she snapped back into reality and entered last.

The woman at the counter had given them the last room, which was on the second floor, all the way at the end of the hall. They all remembered she had said it was a large room, with four beds. Three of them would have to sleep on the floor.

"Yo, are you alright?" Zell asked Marianne, breaking the eerie silence in the slow, but short elevator ride. By the sound of the ding, they had reached the second floor, causing the doors ahead of the group to slowly open. Marianne just looked at Dincht, for a moment, and then focused in getting off the elevator and following them to the room. If only the situation was on a much friendlier basis, Marianne would have gladly smiled and say something to him. Maybe even make him laugh. She thought of him as cool, and sometimes of a goof. On this night, and from the previous dangers and fears she encountered, it was just not the time at all to be sociable.

She watched as Irvine used his cardkey. There was a metal device on the door, which Marianne had become familiarized with. The cowboy of the bunch inserted the card in the thin slot on where it was shaped for it to slide into. There were two lights. The light turned green, and gave a few friendly beeps as Kinneas turned the knob of the now unlocked door. Marianne noted that the red light signal means the same thing as this: Access Denied. It was not much of a surprise that this world was so similar to hers, but only slightly different. The monsters and magic. The money. The technology being slightly more advanced. Those few facts were very obvious.

In single file, the group minus Selphie stepped into the hotel room. Quistis placed a gentle hand on Marianne's back in leading her to show her where the bathroom was located, then reached below the sink to grab a trash bag. Marianne nodded to Trepe, knowing what to do, in which was to put her blood soaked clothes, including under garments, in it. As Quistis gave her a last glance, the frightened youth softly gasped in a breath of air in crying, hoping Selphie will get all her necessities. "You'll be alright," she tried to assure her, about to feel her eyes water in the dramatic sight of the stranger. Her hand gingerly squeezed Marianne's right shoulder. "You should find the hair dryer under the sink too. Just dry off and come on out when Selphie returns. I have a brush in my purse." Marianne nodded in reply as Quistis closed the door quietly in leaving the bathroom.

All of everyone else's eyes fell on Trepe as she opened up her purse in search of her hairbrush. She always remembered to take out her hair clumps in cases such as this.

Soon, the Balamb/Galbadian bunch heard the shower water running, followed by the sound of bitter weeping. Squall, leaning back against the wall next to the door, bowed his head and closed his eyes, angry and unable to push away his emotions. Pestering him little by little, his own thoughts were. _I wonder if we can ever get her home… God! I can't believe this! …I, Squall Leonhart, am going soft on her. I never go soft. …What is happening to me? This is going to be a long night, I know it._

Seifer sat on the bed at the same wall, a few feet from Leonhart, looking down at the floor in silence. Everyone was either sitting down, or standing up, listening for a moment to Marianne's heavy sobs from inside the bathroom…

Up above, way up above in space, a conference was being held. There were an assortment of creatures, and then there was Rinoa. She seemed to be alive, uninjured, and safe in the heavens, but the group here and down below knew she was eaten alive by the Iguions, which also died.

__

"Is this one of your children?" spoke a gentle, feminine voice in the crowd. She looked to be human. Her skin was pale and pink, looking like weird sunburns. Heartilly's chocolate brown eyes strongly looked at only the face of this female, feeling modest over the fact that the goddess of Gala, the name of the "game world", wore no clothing. Her hair was a long golden blonde color. Pink and white skin as thin as ribbons dangled from the sides of her head, mingling with her hair. The eyes glittered like the sun over a vast ocean. Overall, she was beautiful, and had been a sight to see for Heartilly. The first time in seeing the one immortal who created all on Gala.

Rinoa recognized most of those who've come to join the meeting, but an old man. He was adorned in pure white robes. The beard and the hair that grew from the top of his head was so long that it reached all the way down to his feet. His eyes were a light cloudy gray, filled with concern. The weird sunburn looking woman, known as Hyne, brought God here for Marianne's emotional support. She figured it was the best thing she could do right before she decided to do anything else, after looking through her memories for brief moments at a time.

The rest of the crew were known as the Guardian Forces, including the muscular tan skinned Ifrit, elemental guardian of Fire. Not only was the bright red hair an obvious clue. His temper was known to be as hot as the cave he resided in. The Fire Cavern. His thick black horns crookedly curled outwards in opposite directions. Every now and then steam would escape out of his nose whenever he exhaled.

To his right was a humanoid that was part bat. Diablos, the elemental guardian of Gravity. His dark violet wings on his back were as large as the rest of his form, resembling the skin membranes of bats' wings indeed. The rest of his form was bright crimson red and black as the darkest sky. Black claws, about two inches long, hooked downward from his fingers and toes, the number of them matching the average human's. His structure was tall and slender, except for the head. The long downward chin was sort of zigzagged. His ears were pointy and pointed outward. His eyes were in slits, glowing a golden yellow. Diablos had been known to be a bit crabby at times. This was possibly not one of them, or at least Hyne hoped so.

Behind Diablos was the Ice Goddess, Shiva. Also known as the elemental guardian of Ice, of course. Her skin was light blue, also not having the sense to wear any type of garment around poor, modest Rinoa. Thick, loose strands of hair would have matched perfectly, if the yellow hadn't appeared on the ends. It stopped growing by the shoulders. Shiva's eyes were also light blue, but seemed to have a distinct glow to them. Straight out of the Dune movies, as Marianne would say if she laid eyes on her.

Quezacotl, the elemental guardian of Thunder, was such a beautiful bird. Most of his feathers were yellowish, except around the horizontal olive green lines around the amber colored eyes and vertical feathers on his wings that were yellow orange. Even though he should have a matching temper like Ifrit, since thunder was the GF's element on the world of Earth, Quezacotl was a very peace natured and placid bird. He was larger than any hawk or eagle God himself created. At first glance, there was a look of awe from whom Marianne was born and raised to worship.

Other guardians were there too, by the names of Siren, Carbuncle, Bahamut and Pandemona. _"Yes,"_ God had responded to Hyne. _"That is indeed one of my children, and I am very grateful to have followed you Hyne. I've recently told my son, Jesus, to watch over Earth for me."_ He looked at the stretched hole of space Hyne had opened for him to see. He observed his child in the shower, bawling her eyes out…

****

Where is the sunlight? Where's the repair for all the damage I have done…?

Weighing down my soul… The thought of it's too much, when I think about it all…

She had decided to let it all come out. A good cry was just so difficult to resist as she focused to wash the blood off her skin. Marianne's light tan skin may be able to be cleansed, but the memory of tonight's past events could never be erased. _It's my fault after all… It's my fault…_

The touch of the hot water massaging her back wasn't going to soothe her mind. Nothing would. Earth was in the hands of an evil sorceress, and abandoned Marianne with Seifer and the others in this world, that was unbelievably real. Rinoa Heartilly was not saved by Irvine and Squall in time, due to her stopping them, and pleading for their help in this chaos. If Seifer, followed by the rest of the people of Balamb Garden, Irvine from Galbadia, hadn't come to the rescue, she would have bled to death. Worry of those she loved at home and held close to her usually sweet natured heart ate and consumed her whole.

Can I still find a place? Where my mind stops all the suffering…?

Her arms and legs were slightly aching due to those small bruises. The left side of her head hurt like hell. The purple mark remained where it hurt. Oblivious to the voices of her caretakers outside of the bathroom, she put away the soap and wash cloth, and stood there. _What if I never get home, Earth being doomed forever? What if I'm stuck here for-freakin'-ever? What if…_ Marianne panicked inwardly. She couldn't stand it. What she really wanted to do was go home, and see her parents. She needed their comfort, desperately. She needed her god's support and mercy, desperately. Everything around her now was just so overwhelming…

From looking within Marianne, God had found out why she was trembling and bawling so much. He found out everything that happened to her. He recognized that woman who smiled softly upon her in memory, just before she lifted a hand to cast the Aero spell to push her to the floor. He watched this woman appear in her bedroom, replacing the missing girl, supposing to be asleep on her bed. Edea Kramer, from one of those Playstation video games that a company from all the way in the east of Earth has created out of computer technology. "_No, it cannot be possible!"_ he spoke earlier in utter disbelief. _"None of MY children have the skill to have created something so real, beyond virtual reality!"_ But now that time has passed. God, the Guardian Forces, and Rinoa had to be informed of this by Hyne herself.

Sure, at first Hyne was upset over these facts too, for a time, but she had the ability to use time to her advantage up here in the heavens. Plentiful time to get over these cold facts, and to explain to the others on what she had seen in looking Marianne's mind and memory banks. She also explained what she has observed the sorceress has done, only months ago. _"It was during a severe thunderstorm, and the demon inside Edea's body, Ultimecia, liked to amuse herself in such weather. She'd use her dark magic to put on a lightning show out of boredom,"_ Hyne had explained from before. _"One bolt of lightning had come in her direction. For once, Ultimecia had become careless. Through using Edea as her puppet, she had seen into Earth through Marianne's eyes. She had developed an unexplainable connection with her, seeping into her memory banks."_

****

Will I live in my disgrace on and on?

Hyne had helplessly watched Edea/Ultimecia throughout the months as the dark magic was building more and more until the powers were strong enough to switch places with Marianne. She could not interfere, because this was part of a treaty between herself and her most special children, the Guardian Forces. They would take care of the mortals living and nonliving. In return, she must do everything else. Back then in first finding out, she was _furious_ in knowing that the world of Gala was entertainment for young people on Earth. She learned how much cruelty the hand of fate held in its possession. At first, she didn't believe that the switch would happen. When it did, she went on a long journey through space. Amazing, and appalling how one planet and being such as herself was actually created by a team of "video game designers" as they were called, on Marianne's world. And now this outsider was on this world, nothing more than a pawn to Ultimecia's plans for world domination. Hyne felt ashamed for even knowing this woman of Hades was partly her own. Hades, being like the "devil" or "Satan" of Gala.

Rinoa, sweet natured Rinoa, was shocked to first hear the news. In being told that Earth doesn't know she really exist, and the entire world of Gala for that matter, there wasn't not much of a grudge. The way Hyne had explained it to her, and about Marianne's case, Heartilly understood crystal clearly. This truth was nothing pleasant, but she realized that the company creating the Final Fantasy series are only just as human as she would be. _"I wish I could give that poor girl a hug!"_ Rinoa cried, shedding her own tears as well. She was shown the previous events through Marianne's own eyes in memory. It was a really harsh thing of the goddess to do, but it was the only way to help her understand. Shiva frowned, and felt the same way. _"This is quite serious. Mother Hyne, what are we going to do about this?"_

The Guardian Forces were conversing with each other. _"HOW CAN EARTH'S MORTALS BE SO…"_ Ifrit was trying to find the right word, but Hyne's explanations forced him to believe that Earth's people were not stupid. His stubborn mind and heart opened in seeing Marianne's home world being rather intelligent from what Hyne explained to him and his sibling Guardian Forces. There were different spoken languages. Her home country, the United States of America, was quite powerful for a country no bigger than Galbadia. The only things he found really, REALLY stupid were the wars in which the humans fought each other. And this Hitler fellow too. Creating a master race?! Ifrit saw it to be cruel, through what he had learned of a glimpse in Earth's history.

__

Ifrit, don't," cautioned Quezacotl. Squall's junctioned Guardian Force. _"You don't want to make Mother Hyne angry."_ The bird seemed to be as caring about this mess as much as Rinoa, God, and Hyne altogether. Especially in noticing Squall's reactions. And from seeing her memories as much as the other heavenly forms, he knew this girl alone could break Squall's self built shell. And Leonhart was considered to be her "most favorite character" out of Gala, to which she thought wasn't really in existence. Yup, Marianne had Quezacotl's support all the way in this.

****

I've heard a word from on high

Clear like a light in the sky

It said, "Quit blowing each other up."

"Bahamut, step forward," Hyne commanded to the dark blue and perwinkle dragon. Large in form, Hyne had given him a nice title for a Guardian Force: Wisdom. _"The rest of you are dismissed." _ All but Carbuncle, Bahamut, and Quezacotl had left. Ifrit didn't really want to hang around anyway, though a part of him wanted to know what was going on. Still, he couldn't disobey Mother Hyne. Siren, another feminine GF, decided that the dragon, one of her close friends, would meet up with her back in the heavenly kingdom of Hyne. Bahamut knew better than to disobey Hyne, for he was the GF of Wisdom. A very intelligent one of her children, he had earned the title over thousands of years in growing up. The rest have given him so much respect for this king of dragons, for many, many years. Most of his thick and scaly skin was dark blue, the inside of his body length wings red with black spots. The wings were partly stretched outward, with Hyne unable to see the beautiful markings on the outside membranes, matching his enormous body. His long, thin horns were sharp, and curled backwards, almost like Ifrit's but more straightened out, and longer, slimmer. His eyes were similar in color to Shiva's but larger, the pupil being a slightly darker shade.

Bahamut did as he was asked, and stepped forward on all four legs. His front feet sort of resembled a human's, but there were four fingers on each hand. But that doesn't take away the ability to grab, hold, or climb, as well as to fight. _"Am I needed in service?"_ he asked, assuming so. _"I want you to junction yourself to the outsider." _Hyne commanded. The dragon was confused, and a bit angry. Possibly annoyed. Surely this human wasn't able to defend herself against those Iguions, meaning she was no competition for him. _"Do you wish to give the girl a sentence to death? She cannot battle me, let alone stand up to me." "You speak of wise words, dragon,"_ God said in agreement. _"I will not risk putting my child in danger!"_ The other Guardian Forces uttered in agreements, while Rinoa stood in the middle of the crowd, silent and watchful. She didn't believe Hyne would decide to have Marianne battle a Guardian Force either. _"No. You will not battle her. Nor pester her with your riddles," _Hyne stated.

****

Hello? I'm trying to focus, but my eyes deceive me…

The GF of Wisdom was appalled. No battle?! No RIDDLES EVEN?! But he loved to share his complex riddles with mortals! It provided him entertainment. _"I am not one to make errands, Mother Hyne!!"_ Bahamut fumed. _"You will DO what I ask you to do. You will be her Guardian and life partner until I say otherwise," _ the goddess of Gala ordered. Surely this dragon was such a stubborn one. The superior intelligence of Bahamut seemed to build in a sense of great pride to her. For he was sure acting like it. _"She needs protection. She also needs your guidance. Look at her…"_

Bahamut turned to the viewing hole stretched among the stars. He had seen her cry in the shower still. Hyne added, _"Marianne is lost, and afraid. Ultimecia hasn't even broke the connection with her, for entertainment purposes…"_ She felt anger for that. Wasn't Earth a big enough toy for the sorceress from the future?! _"You can also be useful to keep the demon away from torturing her."_ Bahamut only growled in reply. Rinoa seemed to understand what Hyne meant, and spoke up. _"Bahamut, from what I've learned-" "STEP DOWN MORTAL!" _ Bahamut roared. Carbuncle squeaked in fear due to the rising of his voice and cowered behind Quezacotl. _"Bahamut!!" _ Hyne scolded. _"I am surprised at you! You are mostly fond of humans, and yet you snap at young Rinoa?!" _ Quezacotl piped in, _"I could do the honors, Mother Hyne, but I have been assigned to Squall, but want to help in another way…" _ Hyne turned attentively to her child of thunder and lightning. _"Oh…?"_

Bahamut sat down from where he stood, slightly amused. The dragon knew Quezacotl was very compassionate as he was towards humans, and listened to what he had to say. _"From looking through Marianne's memory banks, and noticing Squall's reactions to this outsider, I can help her through him. And she's had feelings for whom she thought wasn't as real as she is. Only she alone could help Squall… She knows why he isolates himself."_ Bahamut shook large head slowly in response. He should have known that… but he was so blind of everything else to notice. And it was so typical of the bird! Hyne seemed pleased of Quezacotl's choice. This was to be a great benefit for the both of them. _"Very good Quezacotl,"_ God approved. _"This will take time, of course to change the 'lone wolf ', but the two can gain a great sense of trust and friendship… Possibly more… I know my child enough to know that even though she wants to be immune of flirting, but she's done it before… There's been compassion towards whom all of Earth thought to be as…fictional, and I believe she will want to help him overcome that emotion barrier Squall has built around himself."_

Rinoa frowned, thinking over what her outcome in Squall's life could have been if Edea and Marianne hadn't switched places. She could have been the one to help him, and to fall in love with him… And Seifer could have been a villain, whom she had currently was starting to fall out of love with. _I admit it, I was flirting with Squall a bit on the way to Deling City. I'm a hopeless romantic… _God had noticed that Rinoa was frowning. _"Yes, you were told of what was…supposed to happen."_ he said. _"I understand on how you feel, Rinoa." _She looked to him. Those feelings of sadness of her own death and hearing the cold truth of what she really was had been put behind in the past now. Hyne had taken a huge note of this and consoled to her personally.

Meanwhile, Bahamut and the other two Guardian Forces waited. Hyne once again told Bahamut on what he was supposed to do. _"If you do not help her, so help me, I will have to suspend you into time compression for the next few centuries." _ Knowing of this punishment had opened the dragon's eyes. _"You have always been a good guardian child, and I don't wish to do such a thing to you, Bahamut. Swallow your pride, and be Marianne's life partner." _ Time compression. Never had a GF disobeyed Hyne, because of that threat.

Time compression was an ultimate prison for immortals, and it was such a boring place. Bahamut would get easily bored and would try and gnaw his way out of the barriers that would keep him in, no matter how much pain would his sharp teeth would gain. So with that, he cleared his throat and said in a calm manner, thinking it over, _"Yes… Surely someone would have to keep the evil woman away from her." _He nodded curtly._ "I am honored for this important task, Mother Hyne." _ The goddess softly grinned and gave an acknowledging nod, getting right down to business. _"Very good. Since all of you are here, Rinoa, Quezacotl, Carbuncle, and Bahamut, I could think of ways to fit all of you into tonight's plans. Rinoa… I want you to resolve your death with Marianne. Convince her that it's not her fault…" _ Rinoa silently nodded, thinking it was a very smart thing to be doing. _"Yeah, I want to talk to her." "And so you shall, dear."_ Hyne soothed. _"Bahamut, you and Rinoa will speak with her in a dream when she falls asleep."_ _"Mother Hyne… I ask permission to enter this dream along with them, on Squall's behalf."_ Quezacotl piped in, while preening the gorgeous yellow orange feathers on his wings. _"Done."_ the mother of all Gala said, approving…


	4. Now or Never

****

Hehe, cool! Bahamut's gonna be a GF to my character! -giggle- Well, here's the next part of the emotional roller coaster. I just like to think of the whole thing as one thrill ride. I even blow myself away as I write this, which is important!

Lyrics used: "Tonight" by Staind! Off the 14 Shades of Grey album of course! Awesome song…awesome lyrical pick for this chapter. It matches to what I write, like poetry!

Chapter 4: Now or Never

****

Just try to understand. This isn't what I planned.

This ride's out of my hands…

"Seifer, what happened?" Quistis interrogated, anxious to know what on Gala happened to him. "…How did you escape from execution?" The last word that escaped from Tepe's lips had brought a surprised expression on Almasy's face as he felt himself standing up. _…Of course, right. From trying to kill that bastard president of Deling,_ he recalled through memory. He blurted all he knew:

"Well, I don't know! The last thing I remember is Edea referring to me as some stupid little kid." Seifer shook his head in frustration, wishing he knew how he ended up in that throne room with Marianne and Edea. His shoulder muscles began to tense up. "I… I must have blacked out, or something! Like I was asleep, and I 'woke up' looking at Marianne, looking scared as shit with my Hyperion to her throat… And I didn't know what the fuck was going on!" Squall and the others around him reacted in mixed reactions. Disbelief from Zell, because it was likely of Almasy to tell tall tales. Shock from Quistis and Squall. Irvine thought of Marianne, how she must have felt, as his hazel eyes drifted down to look at the floor. _That poor little lady…_ "She also knew my name, and-and I don't know how, or why!" Almasy added, reacting all jittery, shaky. He was freaking out. This statement, and how Seifer was acting, had surprised everyone. "It was right before I could even introduce myself, shit," he explained. "It all just happened so quickly…" He sat down on the same bed as before, head in his hands for a few seconds.

"Then, it's something to ask her about as soon as she comes out of the shower," Zell said, in stating the obvious. Due to Seifer's dismay. "No shit," he spat, followed by an awkward moment of silence between him and everyone else. Quistis broke it. "Let's not approach her directly. She's still shaken up from the wall's collapse…" The next thing she said was about to get a harsh but honest reply in return, her mind wondering about someone else. "I hope Rinoa's alright." "…She's not," Almasy informed her. "She was murdered by two monsters. …The Iguions that tried to kill us." Knowing of this hurt Trepe, badly. She only wanted to find her and apologize for how rudely she acted while "Operation: Assassinate the Sorceress" was still going on. And to her, Seifer looked pretty hurt about it too. To what she has been told, from Heartilly herself, they were very devoted to each other.

The blond man in the dirty, bloodstained trench coat felt like a fool. He shouldn't have done the spur of the moment attack on the president. He should have been there for her more. Hours earlier during the late afternoon, he saw that she was with Squall's team. He felt like he needed someone to blame. _It's their fault… No, Squall's! He's the leader of them, right?! They should have been there for her!_ He spoke his thoughts out loud, directing them those around him. He looked to Squall first, eyes burning with an inner fury. "It's your fault that Rinoa is dead." Leonhart only gave him a scowl in return, his thoughts bottled up. _I didn't do anything wrong, you ass._ "Now that's just pure bullshit!!" Zell snapped back, rage pouring from him like a waterfall, down on Seifer. Both of his hands clenched into fists, as if he wanted to punch his all time hated bully right in the kisser. "If only I could have known sooner, but it was Instructor," Almasy added furthermore, pointing to Trepe. "Who told me you three ROOKIES were left in her dispatch to liberate Timber!" Realizing this, he felt betrayed, hurt. "My job!!" The aggressive rising of his voice spread out through the room, letting all in his presence know he was pissed off. "We thought she was locked up inside of her father's mansion, to discover she was gone. It's no one's fault, Seifer!" Quistis counter pointed. "Ragging it out on us won't solve anything." "Yeah, and actually THINK before you say shit!" Dincht shouted scornfully, pointing an index finger to the side of his head. The action was to emphasize on the word "think." "Shut the fuck up, Chicken Wuss!!" Seifer retaliated, not wanting to tolerate him at all.

Before there was to be anymore quarreling, Selphie Timlitt had come into the room, the beeping sounds from the door cutting the argument to a sudden halt. She was greeted with silence. Dincht crossed his arms over his chest, back turned on Seifer. Selphie inspected the varied looks on their faces. "…What's going on?" she wondered, face stricken with concern. Quistis turned to her, taking a deep breath. "Selphie…" Eye contact had broken when she had said the horrible news. "Rinoa is dead…"

****

So now I'm forced to be

Something I cannot be

If only I can make you see…

Behind the shower curtains, Marianne had heard Seifer's yelling, including about the bit about her blurting out his name when she should not have. From that to what sounded like Zell and him at each other's throats, she felt a soft gasp escape from her lips. Her heart raced like mad. She would have to tell them the whole truth. And really soon. _This is going to get really, REALLY ugly,_ she silently told herself, feeling utterly afraid. What if they became pissed off, and have a go at her like Zell and Seifer did to each other? No… She didn't want that at all.

Marianne tried to regulate her breathing, but it was becoming so hard to contain this pressure that was heaved upon her shoulders. Too much! Way too much pressure. _I can't go out there. I can't!_ she panicked, shaking despite the warmth of the endlessly pouring shower water on her back. _They'll only get suspicious if you don't. Seifer and the others need to shower too, ya know._ With that, she tried to force herself to get a grip, taking one deep breath after another.

Click. The sound of the door opening. "Marianne?" That voice… A little high pitched, and not so perky right now. _Selphie. Yeah, she'll get everyone to calm down. And Quistis…_ Timlitt had a brown paper bag in her arms as she cautiously made her entrance. The girl in the yellow dress had heard Marianne's sobs from behind the curtains. "I got you some clean clothes hun," Selphie told her, in a calm, friendly way. She slowly placed the bag down where she was standing, so when Marianne was ready to dry off, she wouldn't have to search the entire bathroom for clean clothes. Only one pair of clothes were inside. Seifer had already received his, just after Quistis told Selphie about poor Rinoa, then hearing Quistis scold him and Dincht about that argument they had just moments ago.

"Are you almost done?" The frightened one sniffled, and managed to squeak out a reply. "…I'll be out in a minute." This alarmed Timlitt, and she thought, _Uh oh… She must have overheard Seifer and Zell yell each other's heads off. …Shame on them._ "I put the bag down where you can see it, okay?" "Alright… Thanks," a whimpering Marianne responded. _Aww, poor Marianne! _Timlitt sympathized within herself. She stood there a moment longer to say, "I'll be waiting for you when you get out, okay? …It's alright… Don't be afraid. We're not angry with you… It's just that everyone's as shaken up as you are."

__

Of course… It's just what I have to reveal… That's what I'm worried about, Marianne silently told Timlitt, who was unaware and couldn't read minds. Like the average human being. "Okay…" was what she told Selphie out loud, noticing her silhouette on the white shower curtain beside her. She watched her go. For a few seconds more, she instantly told herself just before turning the water off, _Keep it together. Wait for everything to cool off, or ask them to wait for a few minutes or so for everything to cool off, or else I won't be able to tell them anything…_

An annoyed sigh erupted from Bahamut in the heavens, as he watched over the group with Rinoa, God, and Hyne. Quezacotl had gone back to Squall's mind, while Carbuncle went back to Irvine's. _"Can't Seifer and Zell just grow up for once?!" _ Rinoa said, really disliking them at the moment. _"That's going to take time,"_ the wise goddess of Gala told her. _"Fools,"_ the dragon king growled. "_If they quarrel with each other, they'll only receive absolutely nothing from Marianne's knowledge."_ _"Yes, that is indeed so. She would only hide what they need to know within herself, and keep quiet. A very similar defense mechanism whenever her father would yell in anger,"_ calculated God, then directed something to the group of people he saw. _"Please be gentle and patient with her…"_ This only caused Marianne's destined, soon-to-be Guardian Force to emit a low growl. _"Relax Bahamut,"_ Hyne said to him. _"Selphie and Quistis wouldn't hesitate to force Seifer and Zell to calm down."_ She sighed and thought, _I only hope they don't react cruelly. I doubt about Selphie, but the others…_

Well, to the others, it seemed that Marianne was certainly taking her time to get out. Not that anyone was in a real hurry anyway. Especially not Seifer, who was covered in blood, like Marianne used to have been. He was told that he was next, but hey. There was no hurry.

"Did you know that Marianne overheard the arguing?" Selphie said, directing the question to the two blond young men. The angry looks on both of their faces had vanished into thin air. "Aw man…" Zell moaned, feeling the guilt well up inside him. His expression showed that he was truly sorry. Seifer felt the same, and backed away slowly, head lowered, although HATING IT inside himself to admit that Dincht was right about thinking before saying things. After all, he said it very rudely. "Shame. On. Both of you." Selphie scolded them slowly in a dangerously low voice, and then looked away from them, disappointed to hear of them fight around Marianne. This gave everyone else around her the chills. Including a surprised Squall Leonhart, whose thoughts were, _…Damn, that's not like Selphie at all…_

Marianne didn't like the fact that Selphie got her a tank top to wear, and had hesitated before putting in on. It would have been much better if it were an orange T-shirt instead, but an orange tank top?! What was Selphie trying to do?! Weaken her and make her feel even more vulnerable? She felt as if they wanted to see her in pain, wanting to see the bruises all over her arms and shoulders… Obviously, Timlitt did not know any better, but Marianne had no choice. Thank God the rest of her outer attire were blue jeans, to cover up the bruises on her legs. Selphie did a lucky guess for the rest of her necessities. There were a pair of pink sandals too, with assorted plastic flower decorations on them. _Cute,_ she commented to herself.

She finished drying off, and finally emerged toward the others a minute later. She was still shaking all over a bit. Selphie stood right in front and drawn her into a hug, moving one hand gently up and down her scalp. Her hair was almost dry. Dry enough to not worry about using the hair dryer. Seifer noticed it was still disheveled and frizzy, from the first time he saw Marianne.

Quistis was on one of the beds. "Come on over," she called to Marianne in a soft, welcoming voice. At least the girls were being friendly to her. Zell and Selphie followed. "Aw damn it. I'm so sorry," Dincht apologized, giving her a hug. And the tone of his voice told her that he was indeed really sorry. He felt her shake, which made him very worried about her well being. Seifer, from behind noticed the tank top, and had the same thoughts as Marianne did. He shook his head disapprovingly. Timlitt, unfortunately, didn't catch that. She was too focused on the person in front of her.

Zell sat beside the crying girl. Quistis sat in an Indian style behind her, brushing her hair and being sure to be gentle around the tangles, because her curly hair was pretty thick. Seifer entered the bathroom door to take his shower, just after looking upon Marianne in guilt for one last time. _I am such a DICK!! _he mentally cursed to himself. _I had forgotten all about that poor kid. Marianne, forgive me…_

Squall walked to sit on the bed across from the one that Marianne, Quistis, Selphie, and Zell were sitting on, and observed. "You gonna be okay?" Dincht asked Marianne. She looked to him, afraid. She glanced at Squall, who stared back at her blankly. Irvine walked to sit beside him. _Telling the truth around HIM, and Seifer, scare me the most… They'll be mad. At least slowly… …This is a freakin' nightmare._ She quickly shifted her eyes from Leonhart to Selphie, who was moving her hand up and down Marianne's right shoulder, sitting on the bed on the right, opposite of Zell's sitting position.

Squall had caught the separate fear toward him in her eyes. When she looked at the others, she wasn't as scared. _She seems really afraid of me…but why? _He felt one of his eyebrows rise when Marianne wasn't looking, but closing her eyes, taking deep breaths as an enforcement to calm down. Ever since he first encountered this trembling stranger, he was able to easily read how she felt. _"Squall,"_ called a familiar voice to him, from inside of him. _Quezacotl?_ he answered. _"Marianne has something very important to tell all of you, but give her some time to calm down. It's going to be really hard for her to explain what she has to say, so have mercy." _his Guardian Force advised. Squall found himself staring at the girl as Quezacotl spoke to him. _…Can't you just tell me what it is? Do you know?_ _"It is best in coming from her… Please be gentle," _the bird pleaded of him. _…Why are you so concerned about Marianne, Quezacotl? _ No answer. _Quezacotl!_ Again, no answer. Squall mentally sighed in frustration, not getting it, but decided to approach calmly anyway. For Marianne's sake. Not that he wanted to be on her case intentionally. Usually, he disliked meddling in others' affairs, but this situation was way different for him.

The other Guardian forces, but Irvine's had also warned their life partners in their own time. "…Is there something you want to tell us?" Squall asked Marianne in concern, to be sure. "…Yes," she whispered in reply. In a scared whisper. Now, Leonhart was really worried, but on the inside. She was scared in whatever had to be said, and something told him that it was serious. Feelings within his emotion protected heart had broken through by force. Dread. Anxiety. Anger.

Zell rested a hand on her left shoulder, since he was sitting to her left. "Take your time," Selphie offered on the opposite side. "Whatever it may be, there's no hurry hun." Marianne nodded, and closed her eyes, just focusing on her breathing for just one minute. _How the hell am I going to say all this to them? …I don't believe there is any positive approach to this at all. I have to tell them the hard, cold truth, but I can't be real gentle about it…_ She inhaled for another moment, as she felt them stare at her, as her eyes remained closed. Scared shitless she was. _Oh God… Okay… Just tell them the way that you know how… And take your time… Yeah…_ Marianne was trying to comfort herself in thought, but she couldn't push away the tension. The worries of being abandoned or worse.

****

Tonight…I'm alive

I've watched you all grow up and so have I…

Inside, this isn't really what I had in mind…

Deep in his gut, Zell could tell that whatever it was she had to say, it was something bad. Really bad. He clamped his jaws shut tightly as a sign in being nervous. Marianne's hesitation was making everyone nervous. Quistis had stopped brushing her hair to pay full attention to this. Noticing that she was having a hard time in trying to start, she decided to be of service. "Can you first tell us of how you know Seifer's name? …When he hadn't introduced himself to you?" Squall felt himself lean forward in where he sat, as Quistis moved to sit on his left, Irvine on his right. Leonhart was fully attentive on what she had to say. _I can answer that simple question… No problem,_ Marianne assured herself, then slowly opened her mouth to begin to answer Trepe's question…

"…I not only know Seifer's name, but all of yours…" Well, it was a start. She knew they would be surprised to hear of it, and see the shocked facial expressions. Struggling to be brave, she pointed with her shaking index finger at each of them, starting with the long haired blonde female, with her hairbrush in her lap. "Quistis Trepe." Marianne strongly forced herself to not look at her reaction, and to just finish what she started. She did it counter clockwise, pointing to Zell next. "Zell Dincht." Zell's eyes went wide, and his mouth went slightly ajar as she pointed to Selphie next. "Selphie Tilmitt." "Oh my Hyne…" the girl in yellow said in mere shock as Marianne moved her finger to Irvine. "Irvine… I know your last name starts with a K…" "Kinneas…?" the kind Galbadian said, surprised that he even helped her pronounce his last name. She nodded silently in reaction. Squall felt and knew what was coming as that same finger pointed to him. Marianne's lips quivered in slight hesitation, and looked at his reaction. On the outside as a whole, he looked pissed, but his eyes told her that there was great shock. Regaining her voice, she called her most favorite "character's" name. "Squall Leonhart… And the guy in the bathroom is Seifer Almasy." "H…How?" Zell managed to ask, really surprised in reaction. Marianne knew this would happen, and pushed herself onward. _There's no turning back now. It's now or never._

"This next part gets…complicated," Marianne told them, and the best she knew how. She blinked, and just breathed for a moment. "I'll just go ahead and warn you guys ahead of time…" Another inhale and exhale. "In what I tell you, please, don't…point any fingers. I'm innocent and… I never knew this world existed until tonight." The only answer she had gotten were the shocked facial expressions. She paused again as she had seen Squall's eyes narrow in suspicion. _It's really bad, isn't it? On what you have to tell us? "Remember, have mercy, and be patient. You can see that this is very difficult for her to explain…" _Quezacotl reminded him.

Marianne bit her lower lip, and forced herself to say what was needed to say… _Take it slow if you need to. Selphie and Quistis will probably understand at least._

****

I no longer relate, to this world of hate

That's forced upon my plate…

Within this moment of silence, there were second thoughts. _Seifer's still in the shower… Would I be able to recall anything when he joins us?_ From the unbearable pain that ebbed on Marianne's head, and how she was feeling right now, the answer came instantly. _No…_ She inhaled deeply, and told them, "Maybe we should wait for Seifer to come out… I got the feeling I can only…explain this once." _"Very understandable,"_ Shiva said from within Zell's mind, though only he heard it. Dincht looked to her as she sniffled. Marianne's nose was starting to run a little bit from crying so much. Quistis got up, as Squall watched her get her purse. She quickly came back, handing Marianne a small package. "Tissues," Quistis said simply. "Thank you…" she said in a whisper, feeling her voice shrink.

Zell had an urge to speak a question he had in his mind for a minute or so. He gave a chance for Marianne to clear up the nasal congestion first. After the package was slightly torn open and placed in her lap, Marianne used both hands to bring a tissue up to her nose, and blew. Not as hard as she could, but a little bit. She picked out another one, because the tissues in the package were pocket sized. Dincht pulled out the waste basket from underneath the drawer, located up against the wall in between the two beds the group sat on. Marianne dropped the used tissue into the basket.

"Um, Marianne?" Dincht began, as he saw her look upon him. "How bad is this? What you have to share with us, I mean." A slight pause came from the scared young woman, just after blowing her nose a second time, a little harder. Endless tears came from those pretty blue green eyes. Zell observed her features in before answering. It seemed that the clueless, but friendly young man, was feeding off her fear. Her lips quivered and slightly opened to inhale. "Oh my God, in shock…bad… Somewhere along there…" This answer affected everyone. They were already shocked to know that she knew their names before the chance to introduce themselves. And the fact that she told them she was from another world, believing her.

Selphie, trying to always see the positive side of things, said to her, "If it's something really, really bad and you don't want to share with us, you don't _have_ to-" "No," Marianne interrupted, not wanting her to finish the statement. She knew what Selphie was doing. Offering her a way out of this difficult situation. That she didn't have to tell them the truth. "It'll only get ugly in the long run. I have to, in order to help you…help me… You'll only demand to know if you find out for yourselves…" Marianne felt her voice slightly grow smaller and smaller as she spoke that statement. The tears kept coming endlessly down her cheeks.

Irvine was unusually quiet. It was like he was unable to be of comfort to Marianne, inwardly afraid for her. _I wonder what she has to tell us… I just hope I don't have to shoot her. I wouldn't want to. _ Squall watched as she trembled every now and then. "I've never been so scared in my entire…life…" Marianne whimpered, through that God awful headache. It hurt so much, but the over rush of adrenaline seemed to numb it a bit. This woke Zell up from the mental petrify spell that Marianne had seemed to inflict upon him. Along with Selphie, he wrapped a comforting arm around her.

Quistis couldn't manage to bring herself to focus. It was hard for her to sit still even, clasping both hands around her hairbrush to try and relieve the stress. _She didn't do anything wrong! I don't understand…_ _"Then just wait,"_ Diablos advised from inside her mind. _"And you are right, she didn't do anything wrong. It's not her. It's something to do with her world, but she's the one who has to tell all of you. Not me." _ Quistis looked to Marianne, alarmed of what Diablos had told her. _ Her home world?_

Squall could see this girl was very vulnerable. It was clear that even though she had to tell them something, she didn't want to at all. He wanted answers. Like Quistis, he strongly believed that she didn't do anything wrong. _Quezacotl, she isn't…somehow bad, is she? "No, she's not a bad person. Have you not paid attention to what she said? She's innocent."_ the Thunder GF said in somewhat comfort. _Then, why is she going to have a hard time in explaining why she even knows us? "Because she knows it's something that you wouldn't like to hear, especially."_

That pretty much hit the nail right there. He felt his eyebrows narrow slightly. From all the clues he had gotten from Quezacotl and Marianne altogether, whatever was to be explained was _not_ going to be pretty, and his patience had begun to wear thin. _Hurry up in there Seifer. Let's just get it over with…_

Seifer had finally started to dry off, after a few short minutes. He couldn't hear anyone talking from within the room. Maybe some muffled voices from the others, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Nothing loud. No yelling, that's for sure. Eager to know what's going on, he quickly finished drying off and got changed into the clothes Selphie had bought for him. He thought it was nice of the "messenger girl" to do such a thing. His attire was a white T-shirt, and black jeans. Surely, Timlitt was in a hurry, even think clearly in shopping because of the tank top he had seen on Marianne, who looked like she was a little uncomfortable with wearing it. _What? Was there a clearance sale there in Deling's clothing department? Jeez, at least you could have been a little more considerate to how she feels!_

There were some red briefs, just in case the ones he wore before were dirty, but that wasn't the case. He decided to keep them anyway, just for the hell of having a clean pair to wear for later. Then he quickly combed most of his hair back, not bothering to put on a comb battle with the rebellious bangs that would never obey him.

When he opened the door and walked out, he shortly found the group to his left, on two of the beds near the door that lead out into the hallways. He saw them looking back at him. Looking upon Marianne, her breathing intensified a notch. "What's going on?" Almasy wanted to know. Somehow he was locked into Marianne's frightened gaze at him. "…You might want to sit down on this one, Seifer." she squeaked. _What the fuck…?_ came the first thought as the others seemed to be looking upon him. At first, Almasy figured everyone else had been hostile towards her. If so, why? "What the hell is goin' on here?!" His brows narrowed as Marianne felt like she just wanted to curl up and die. She'd rather be dead or do something else than having to do this.

"Seifer, just do as she says," Quistis said calmly. Seifer looked from Trepe, back to Marianne, in disbelief. "Marianne's got something really important to tell us," Selphie said. "It seems pretty serious, so pay attention. She says that she can explain this once." Marianne nodded silently in agreement. Squall let out a soft groan in annoyance. _Sit down, and shut up,_ he silently told him through another hawk stare, directed at Seifer. Marianne asked Zell politely if he could scoot over some, and he made no hesitation to do so. When there enough room on the bed where Marianne, Zell, and Selphie were sitting on, Seifer sat down with them.

When everyone else were quiet and attentive, Marianne was nervous and scared as hell. _Just get it over with… _ Her body was telling her mind that it was tired, and wanted rest. Her headache made that crystal clear. She fought that off for now. It was best to get it over with NOW. _Worry about rest later. There wouldn't be as much tension anymore coming from me._ She was sure that the others were getting tired too. …What time was it anyway? "Hey, doesn't anyone have a watch on or something?" she managed to say through her tears. "I do," Quistis calmly replied, and rolled up one of her sleeves to reveal a gold wrist watch. "One fifteen." _Whoa, really late… And I went to bed at what, eleven?_ Marianne calculated within herself. Time seemed to go at the same time here as it was back at her hometown.

__

Okay, focus… Almasy leaned forward to focus on Marianne as she closed her eyes, and slowly opened her mouth to speak. "My world, and this one, have a connection…" Well, it was nice, and gentle, but not quite clear to start. She opened her eyes, and seen the mass confusion on the first person she saw. Squall, who was sitting almost exactly across from her. Then a short pause followed. "Connection?" Squall heard himself say out loud. "What kind of connection?" He was coaxing her to go on. "My world…a company in my world…created this one…" A shaky breath escaped from Marianne's lips as she forced herself to explain to them on what she knew. "There's a country on Earth that's really far to the east of mine, and…they…" She slowly stopped within the main explanation, and just asked, "Do the words 'video game', no, 'virtual reality,' ring any bells?"

From observation, the others mentally noted how unstable her voice was. And Squall especially had taken notice of Marianne's question. She was struggling within her speech, and had finished the question she asked rather quickly. He could feel the extreme nervousness, and fear, come from her. "Yeah…like virtual reality simulations?" Dincht asked, trying to be of help. _That's a relief… _Marianne thought as she felt a little of the weight on her shoulders slightly vanish.

"Yeah, something like that," Marianne responded, not making eye contact with him. "That country, by the name of Japan… they…" _Just…say it_… Marianne told herself. "This world, all of you, were designed by a company by…the name of a company. Squaresoft…"

**I tend to disagree**

I hope it's not just me

Alone, if only I could make you see…

****

Finishing Statement from the Author: "Oh! Those darn, evil cliffhangers," is what you're probably thinking right now, lol. I know, you all just hate having to wait a week for chapters 5 and 6 to come. Well, you'll have to deal with it. Soon, I should have chapters 7 and 8 all written and proofread and I'll want to continue to put up two chapters at a time. Okie? 


	5. It Hits Down Hard and Deep

****

Well, from where we last picked off, Marianne was about to reveal the truth… All I can say for this chapter is "UH OH!" because some are gonna get pissed off!! Hehe, enjoy this intense chapter.

The best lyrics I picked and used for this chapter: "Fray" by Staind. (yup, 14 Shades of Grey album again)

Chapter 5: It Hits Down Hard and Deep

****

I know…that it never goes away

What I feel, everything I'm not today…

"I never would have thought any of this was real…" Marianne added before Seifer intruded, in pure disbelief. "What?! Is this some kind of sick joke?!" Marianne shook her head slowly, from side to side. Squall and everyone else, on the other hand, knew she was being honest. By watching her tremble and struggle within her speech, and the evidence they have just received, the stranger wasn't making anything up. "We were created…by your world?" Zell wondered in curiosity, and also interrupting, realizing there was some confusion going on. "Whoa, wait a minute… If this Japan company created us, and you live far from there, how do you know about it?" "Zell…let me continue… Please?" Marianne requested of him, who fell silent, to the sound of her voice. There was a bit of a squeak in there. The young man couldn't push that aside. In respect, Dincht let her continue, because inside he wanted to know why she was so afraid around them. Knowing of this and witnessing the nervousness and fear in Marianne's voice was breaking his heart and scaring him.

"I…don't think Squaresoft know about this at all… See… They are known for creating a…game series…known as Final Fantasy…" Marianne took in another deep inhale, pushing herself onward before anyone could say anything. Or tried to, but there was another moment of hesitation. Leonhart's eyes narrowed as he thought in observation, _What's this Squaresoft company have to do with us? …Are they the ones who "created" us?_ "Are you trying to say that we were created…by them?" he asked Marianne, who nodded slowly in reply. "But," she quickly began before Seifer or Zell would cut her off. "I don't think they know you guys are real, for this is…Final Fantasy…number eight."

****

So I try and I try to make everything right

I don't feel like I'm doing it! It affects me!!

"WHAT?!" Almasy screamed, as Marianne jumped by the loudness of his voice. Her headache _certainly_ didn't die down any. "We're some kind of fuckin' game on your world?! Is that it?!" He said it, loud and clear and stood on his feet quickly. Zell had noticed her jump and quiver. She was quick in her reflexes and her choice to turn to in protection was him. Dincht was practically stunned, but his gut told him to not let Seifer hurt her, or anything. "I…knew this was going to happen," Marianne cried, and trembled in reaction to Seifer's anger. Actually, she didn't think any of them would get it so quickly. _So, that's why she's struggled with her words,_ Squall realized. Slowly absorbing this in, his eyes widened, showing signs to everyone else that he was freaking out. _Holy shit… Is this the reason why Sorceress Edea switched places with her?_

"Listen," Marianne said, in desperation to get everyone's attention. "If they didn't know, then Final Fantasies nine through twelve wouldn't have been created. They _don't know_ that I'm actually here. …They _don't know_ they had created something so real…" She almost stopped talking completely for a few seconds, but knew she had to plead her case that she was innocent in all of this. "I… I didn't even know this has been real all along…" "There's twelve of us?!" Selphie yelped, taken back in shock. "No… no…" Marianne answered, in attempt to calming her down. "Different worlds, different people." She then stopped herself, as if her voice had left her throat to curse her as a mute. "I… I don't get it." Irvine said. He was so surprised and confused to hear of this, but knew better to not accuse her of anything. Kinneas hung onto every word and believed her. And seeing her cower and tremble right next to Zell was enough evidence to prove she was innocent. _Marianne really seems to know what she's talking about ,_ he confirmed to himself.

An uncontrollable stream of panic ran through Marianne's mind. Her shaking body was unable to pull back the adrenaline or numb the head pain any longer. _I knew this was going to happen… Knew it. They're angry. Seifer is definitely pissed off. …My head… I don't think I can take this anymore!_

"And they were all created by the same company?" Quistis asked, feeling what she was saying was the truth. The seriousness, and struggling in her voice. The fear. Trepe saw one of Marianne's hands touch her forehead, followed by intense breathing. Then, there was a knock on the door. _"Seifer needs to calm down,"_ Quezacotl called to Leonhart as Irvine stood up to answer the door. Marianne didn't look, but the others did. There was a man at the door, partially bald. Possibly in his early thirties. His pajamas were white with tiny black dots all over them. "I heard someone shouting from this room. If you don't mind, some of us are trying to sleep." he said, in a weary, irritated voice. The older man gently rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "Oh, someone had a nightmare, and we're trying to calm him down," Irvine said with a gentle, but nervous grin on his face. He didn't want anymore trouble for the group than what was already received. _Nightmare… I'm the one who's having the nightmare,_ Marianne thought as she trembled and cried in Zell's inviting arms. The man at the door heard this and said, "Oh, I see. Well, goodnight. Just give the poor boy some sleeping medicine if ya have to."

When the man left, Selphie was trying to help Marianne calm down. "Seifer, please remain calm," Quistis told the angry one sternly. From the sound of her voice, the former SeeD instructor seemed weary. "We're all not…pleased…to hear of this, but it is really early in the morning." "And look, you've scared her." Selphie said scornfully and gestured towards Marianne with one hand. Like Kinneas, Timlitt had felt no anger, and cared for her just the same as the cowboy and Dincht. "I thought you cared about poor Marianne!"

Seifer lowered his head and stared upon Marianne. "You're a real asshole, you know that?" Zell remarked in a harsh tone. If Marianne wasn't turning to him in safety, he would have gladly punched his lights out. Almasy scowled to "Chicken Wuss", trying to mentally burn a hole right through his face. Dincht had both arms around Marianne, and was sticking up for her. "I'm shocked too, but that doesn't mean I have to raise my voice-" "Zell, don't." warned Squall, holding up one hand as a signal for him to halt in whatever insult his comrade was going to spit at his rival. With enough tension going around, Leonhart wasn't going to tolerate anyone to provoke Seifer. He knew Almasy a lot better than anyone else. When angry, words could make him act violent and cause everyone else some big problems.

Everyone, even Marianne, looked at Leonhart, who was never really the boss over anyone, but himself. Somewhere deep down inside of him, there was a caring guy. It was just that he didn't often show it. Marianne had looked upon Seifer, thinking he's pissed off at her. But not for long and quickly shifted her eyes to look downward on the carpeted floor. She wasn't sure if she was able to continue. Probably not. Almasy in looking back in return, felt like he couldn't stay mad. Those fearful eyes had made him go soft all of a sudden. By a little notch.

****

You wouldn't listen even if I told you

Who the fuck am I to say?

You're too busy with the lies they sold you

Another cure to fix your day…

With a sigh of annoyance, Squall recalled back everything that had been explained. "Okay, Marianne, so you're saying this Squaresoft in a far off country from yours back in your world, created us and our world as a virtual reality game? And you never knew we actually existed until…tonight?" Squall clarified, putting it all together for everyone. It seemed to be up to him to take control and be the most level headed of everyone, even though he hated it. Squall's eyebrows narrowed, but his eyes showed Marianne some surprise before she avoided his gaze. He noted that she didn't like telling them this. She was never happy to begin with. All he could see so far was the fear. He felt the same way Seifer did, but from the hints Quezacotl had told him, he understood her very well. And she even knew they would get such reactions. _Lashing out at her like Seifer did won't solve anything._

Marianne shifted her eyes, vision blurry in tears as she faced Leonhart. As she felt the muscles within her neck tighten, it became hard for her to speak. So she just nodded to him in silence. "This is so fucked," Seifer muttered angrily under his breath, while waiting for her to speak again. He shook his head from side to side rapidly, unable to accept this. He finally sat back down on the bed, and looked down at the floor. He focused his eyes there and nowhere else. This was one of the only ways he knew how to calm himself down. He had to, for the girl's sake. He had that same feeling like everyone else. She was telling the truth.

__

I want to go home now… Right. Now, said the panicking voice inside Marianne's head. She inwardly begged of this horrible, horrible night to end, and fall asleep in the bed she sat on with Timlitt, Almasy, and Dincht. Then to wake up safely back in her bedroom. In addition, she wanted nothing more than to get a hug from her own mother or father. _With reassurance that this is only a bad dream… _Zell continued to move a hand up and down her back to calm her down. "It's alright. He's calming down now," he told Marianne, referring to Seifer. She had slightly calmed down, but was still unable to stop herself from shaking and crying. Unable to gain self control.

But, how do you know about all this? We still do not understand," Quistis told her, cautiously yet calm. She had a little fear lingering in her voice, a little worried about the answer. And what exactly was she afraid of exposing? Marianne just looked at the young woman with long, golden blond hair. This was indeed real, but she so wanted this to be just a bad dream and nothing more. …That wasn't going to happen… However, she felt like she could not answer to the heroes and heroines of Final Fantasy 8 anymore. Her headache, the unending tension within her body, and fear was preventing her to continue…

****

Open wide for all the shit they feed you…

From way up high, God hung his head in empathy for his child. As he looked and felt through the inside of Marianne, he came up with a sad conclusion. _"She's not going to say anything. She feels as if she's 'done enough damage.' " _Bahamut's eyes burned in anger toward Seifer, disappointed in his actions. _"He wouldn't calm down in time…" "That is because Seifer has no Guardian Force. He couldn't be warned ahead of time in what Marianne had to reveal," _explained Hyne, who was trying to think of something, and quick. _"I might have to break a rule, but it is up to the other Guardian Children to show all but Seifer what I have shown them. I'll have to show him myself." _Bahamut thought this was necessary, because it was a really big deal of an emergency. Otherwise Almasy would never be able to know why Marianne even speaks the truth in slow phrases. _"Do it then. I'm sure both Marianne and Seifer do not wish to be in conflict of each other."_ Hyne closed her eyes and relaxed herself, trying to mentally reach Seifer's mind…

__

"Poor Marianne," said Rinoa, frowning as she looked down to see her cower. It was horrible to witness the outsider to break down in front of the group that she had gotten to know. Tear stained cheeks were easily seen by the other immortals around Heartilly. She had cried along with Marianne when the truth had to be forced out. _"Be silent, Rinoa,"_ Bahamut instructed, but didn't make eye contact. "_Mother Hyne needs to concentrate…"_

The life partners of Squall, Irvine, Quistis, Zell, and Selphie, had been given a private thought speech from Hyne, to show them what they've recently seen. Knowing from instinct, the immortals knew Marianne was not able to get herself to answer the group, they showed the people the utter truth through Marianne's eyes. Images of Squall and the others on a television screen, looking to be digitalized. Followed by another image, a white controller with all these strange buttons. Especially the ones on the right. Going clockwise, a green triangle button, a red circle button, a light blue X button, and a pink square button. All of what Marianne had knew was now to their knowledge. Hyne finally managed to reach Seifer's mind and show him what he needed to see.

****

I know…that everything can change

What I need, is to open up again…

From seeing the looks of shock and horror from those around her, Marianne was just as much. She found it hard to keep things sane, and it had all come down to this. Begging for her life. Begging for them to help her and show some mercy.

In a couple deep breaths, the words came out in soft, squeaky phrases within her gasping, sobbing sounds. She used both of her hands to push herself to sit up straight and to stop leaning on Zell. "Please don't be mad at me… I…have family and friends… People who care about me," she cried. As soon as she spoke again, the Guardians and Hyne stopped feeding the others images of Marianne's own memories of their cruel fate as fictional video game characters. "Edea…" As she said the name, she took another deep breath, and began to explain what happened to her in first arriving to the Final Fantasy 8 world. "I was…asleep in my bed… And…it was starting to get hot… Then I was blinded by this light, and…" She took a pause in between to keep up in breathing, then focused on finishing this statement. "I woke up, in some kind of throne room…and Seifer…" She looked to him as Almasy waited for her to finish, eyes wide open. As she continued, it felt as if her voice box was expanding and weighing down her throat. "He was under her spell, or something. He pointed his…gunblade to my throat…and… And…"

She felt herself cowering as Selphie drew her into a hug. This was all indeed very scary to Timlitt, but knew Marianne wasn't the one to blame. Edea was, and Marianne had been transported here against her will. Even Zell could see this, and moved his hand up and down her left shoulder. He's not the brightest light bulb on a line, but he knew very well who was against SeeD and who was not. He also never witnessed someone so scared as this girl was. Marianne couldn't be classified as an enemy. "You must have been…terrified." The words had slid off his tongue before he realized he was speaking them.

Irvine, a kind and caring person this young man was, got up off the bed onto his feet. _Marianne's not a bad person. She's just as freaked about this as we are, I believe. I'm not going to shoot her. She's only human after all,_ Kinneas thought as he wanted to comfort this poor little lady. Marianne knew this guy was very fond of young females, but didn't care as she watched Irvine kneel before her, Selphie letting go of her to see this as well. "Don't worry Marianne. We'll help you get back home, and stop Edea," he said sweetly, wrapping both arms around her. He felt Marianne shake in his arms as they embraced. _This girl's kinda pretty too. …She looks like the kind of girl who would make friends with almost everyone. I'm getting a vibe of sweetness forming from her. _The cowboy released, and gazed into her eyes. He shook his head, having second thoughts about his nature. _What am I doing? I shouldn't be trying to score on her, even if she is a pretty one from another world. And that she had been used to seeing us as…entertainment. _But his first intentions were correct however, about helping this girl.

Seifer rubbed one of his hands over his face, feeling tired as hell. He watched Irvine give her a hug. _Well, she ain't lying. That's for sure. _In his observations of this girl, in what she said and how she felt in explaining, told him that she was definitely innocent, and really didn't know from before that he was actually for real. Living, breathing, talking to Marianne along with everybody else. The truth and how she was feeling were not matching. And he even saved this human being's life earlier in the night. And it was way early in the morning to be ragging on anybody.

****

So never again will I look back in vain

'Cause today's not the past! I don't need to relive it!

With a tired sigh, Almasy felt like he had to agree with Irvine. Deep within his gut, he wanted to use Marianne as some kind of scapegoat. If she wasn't so afraid of all the shit that's happened, if she wasn't making him feel guilty in seeing her cower and tremble so much for mercy, he would have yelled at her. Something in his own damn conscience told him not to. _She's telling the truth, and I can fuckin' feel it. It pisses me off to find out who I really am, and she saw that coming. _ "But why would Edea even switch places with you?" he had to ask Marianne, for everyone else's sake. He felt frustrated. "Were we…destined to know?" "…I don't know," she whispered, voice unable to balance itself. "I d-don't know how she knows what I know."

Then Seifer recalled in memory, "What about that soldier? Something tells me you knew not to trust him." Marianne felt like she was suffocating, and had to draw in another deep breath. "I know…he's not on our side. I…I can't let them know what I know. You know why?" She looked among their faces. Zell looked clueless. Seifer shrugged and mumbled, "Fuck, I don't know." Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine were just waiting for her to answer. "…They would kill you," Squall answered, feeling it was that obvious. "Maybe," Marianne managed to say through her crying. "Possibly torture, and lock me up in order to use me to find Edea." Her arms were hugging her sides as she shivered. "And I don't know how to get back…"

Squall had absorbed all this in, word for word. Image by image, and it was ticking him off. He felt claustrophobic, as if everyone was stealing all of his oxygen and making him suffocate from all what he's seen, and had been told of. He stood up, walked past everyone, and stormed out of the room. He felt like he needed to be alone for now. This was seriously beyond his logic of reason, and it pissed him off. For he was intelligent for a human being. _In Marianne's eyes, intelligent for a goddamn game character her world made up._ Quezacotl felt it was wise to leave Squall's thoughts to his own, unless he was needed to answer something. In this case, he couldn't allow himself to interfere with Squall's alone time. The bird felt that if he did, Squall would only snap at his Guardian Force and hurt Quezacotl's feelings.

Back in the room, everyone else had stayed. Quistis felt the tears sting in her eyes as she also absorbed everything that Diablos showed her, and what Marianne had said. The frightened young woman was indeed innocent, Diablos being correct. But the concept of all of this was causing her to stop thinking, or else she'd get a serious headache. One just like Marianne's.

The throbbing pain in the side of Marianne's skull was just too much now, along with the overflow of adrenaline. "Ice…" she whimpered, as tears continued to run down her face like a light rainfall. Selphie got up, deciding to be of service. "There's some down in the lobby," she told her in a soft, caring voice. With an assuring rub on Marianne's trembling right shoulder, Timlitt let her know that she was in safe hands. "I'll go get some for your poor head. Be right back hun." Marianne slowly nodded as she got up and left the room. She saw Squall's back, for he was standing alone in the hallway, possibly thinking to himself in frustration on how all of this could be possible. Selphie walked on, and focused on going to get a bag of ice from the hotel's lounge room.

****

Are you satisfied? I've given all I can

And are you pacified? Or do you want more from me…?

Marianne was emotionally drained and tired. She couldn't stand to sit up anymore or even answer any questions the rest of the group would have, so she moved to lie down on the pillow. Zell got up and moved over to the left, but never left her side. He could somewhat feel her heartaching pain, and this feeling never left him. Dincht spoke up. "Edea won't get away with this, okay?" he reassured her. He felt like he couldn't hold any grudges against this girl, for she was truly being honest over everything on this cruel night. _She's been too kind to us to be a bad person._ That, and he was pretty tired.

"…We're not mad at you or anything, Marianne. It's just that…we're all freaked as you are over this." She nodded as she laid down on her right side, facing everyone else. "I'm so tired," she said out loud, in a drained, whispering voice. "We're all pretty tired." Quistis told Marianne, just before checking her wrist watch. It was now close to one forty-five in the morning. She rubbed one of her temples with her fingers. "I'm wore out myself," she said, getting up to move. "I…don't mind sleeping on the floor…" A yawn escaped from Trepe's breath. "I don't care." She looked upon Marianne one last time, and moved her hand up and down Marianne's arm in comfort. She inwardly understood why Marianne had been so afraid to tell them what they needed to know in order to help her. Though it was just something for everyone that was going to be a while to take in and accept.

****

I've learned…that this life's not just a game

Just a line…between the pleasures and the pain…

It was only minutes by the time Selphie had come back with a bag of ice. It was balanced on the side of her head. "Let's just leave it there for a little bit," she said, and took a seat next to Zell on the bed. He watched poor Marianne curl into a ball, afraid. Marianne's eyes just focused forward, burning and irritated to look up at Zell. Seifer was straight within her blurred vision. She didn't care and didn't want to say anything to him. She just wanted to go home. She _needed_ to go home. The only people that would seem to cheer her up, no matter how much Selphie and Zell would try, would be her own parents.

Dincht mumbled, "I'm goin' to bed." as he stood up. Before he could move to one of the beds of the room, he said, "Hey, get some rest Marianne. Don't worry. We'll figure something out." Quistis took Zell's spot on the bed, and moved softly rubbed Marianne's exposed arm, for the other was tucked under her left hip. She felt as if it were her duty to keep the newcomer calm.

"Selphie, go on get some sleep. I'll stay up a little longer, and take the ice back to the lounge when Marianne feels she doesn't need it anymore," Trepe said. Selphie nodded and brushed the back of her hand sweetly against Marianne's cheek, wiping away one of her falling tears. "Sleep well hun. You'll be alright." Marianne didn't reply, or look at her, but had calmed down a little. A sign that she appreciated Timlitt's kindness. Selphie then picked the bed across from hers, and began to nod off to sleep.

Seifer took this time to try and make it up to Marianne. She had let him know on what he was unaware of while he had first seen her try to stop the sorceress bitch from escaping into her world. From examining her, he could see that she didn't want to be here or tell them what they had to know. She never did. And probably homesickness was coming across her mind. He approached the bed calmly, and knelt down so she could see his face from where she laid. Marianne focused, and gave an acknowledging nod in knowing what he was trying to do. "I…forgive you," she said slowly through her crying. "I'd feel the same way if I were you." Almasy's features lightened up a bit, showing a soft smile. _She seems like a pretty nice girl,_ he thought as he came up with a reply. With a hand resting upon Marianne's free shoulder, he said the next of his thoughts out loud. "I feel like I understand ya too." It felt awkward, because from what he's learned, she knew about him without even having to say anything. Knew quite a bit, and he knew this. He also learned of what he might have been if Edea didn't make the switch.

Almasy couldn't explain how or why those images were being showed, but had seen something that would haunt him in his sleep for a long time. A vision of himself, grabbing Rinoa and hurting her, squeezing her arm if she still would have lived. Shoving Heartilly to another woman, whose skin was purple and her hair was long crimson red. Could that have been some kind of evil guardian force? Surely, no real human such as this existed, right? This was something he would have to ask Marianne about in his own time, whenever she felt like talking about this Squaresoft business again.

Seifer let out another sigh for the night. "I'm just an asshole trying to be a nice guy…" Marianne nodded. "I know. And…" She paused, and Seifer noticed her voice was shrinking again, so he leaned in close and listened carefully. "What is it?" he asked softly, caring about this poor kid. "Thanks, for saving me," the tearful "kid" replied, and let out another shaky breath. "No sweat," Seifer commented with a smirk and made sure that ice bag stayed on her sore spot well enough. He nudged her on the shoulder to be in friendly terms. "Hey, I admit it took major guts to tell us…you know. You are right about us demanding it out of you in the long run." An attempt of a smile appeared on Marianne's face. _Cool, she's got a sense of humor too…_

Squall, out in the hallway, looked down at the floor, furious. A very small part of him felt bad for Marianne and believed her every word, but most of him was still shaken up on everything Quezacotl had shown him. Inwardly cursing to himself, Squall was just angry at what he's been having to deal with on this night. Everything he dedicated himself for. The people he's worked with and tried to care for him. Everyone but Marianne he's met in the world he's known his entire life so far…it was all created for Earth's entertainment?! The GF felt a great deal of regret for some reason, and Squall felt this bubble up inside his head.

It wasn't like he was blaming her or anything. Leonhart was just frustrated into accepting all of this like everyone else within the group. If Marianne didn't arrive, Rinoa would have still lived. It was like everything that was _supposed_ to happen…was all in a huge mess. He even learned that he would have eventually given himself into falling for Rinoa if the events of this night didn't happen. Unbelievable! He wasn't going to let anyone in, no matter what. Not even Marianne was going to damage his outer shell anymore. He brought up a gloved hand to his forehead in irritation. _This is fucked, like Seifer had said._

The door opened from outside the hotel room. Squall turned to see Quistis come out of the room. "Squall, I know it's hard to accept. It's hard on all of us. Even Marianne." Squall had another hawk stare on his face as he crossed his arms and looked to the floor, can't helping but ask in a robotic tone, "How is she?" "She's calmed down a little, and Selphie gave her an ice bag to soothe the pain on her head injury." Leonhart nodded from the position he remained in, understanding. "You going to bed soon?" Trepe asked, not helping but caring for whom she had felt like a sister to. "…In a minute," he answered dully, and turned away from her completely. "There's a bed saved for you, whenever you decide to turn in," Quistis informed. She got the same tone of voice as Squall answered with an unenthusiastic "thanks."

"I'll be back. I'm going to return put the ice back in the lounge," Leonhart's former instructor informed, holding the blue ice bag in her hands. He watched her go, then mulled on some more in thought, thinking of how he would feel if he were in Marianne's place. _I'd probably be as scared… Why would Edea do such a thing? Why would she want to go to Earth anyway?_ _"For revenge,"_ Quezacotl answered for him. _"In finding out the truth, it drove her angry, and insane." _ Leonhart had remembered, for his Guardian Force had shown him that Edea connected to Marianne's world, through her eyes as the lightning bolt had struck upon her. A part of his mind told him that he would have probably done the same thing if he were as powerful. _"And as evil," _the gentle thunderbird added.

Quezacotl didn't see Squall as an evil being, and it just wasn't possible that he would turn bad. For all of Leonhart's life, he had grown up around good people. _He doesn't even have the heart to do it,_ the GF thought, and Squall had heard that, but let it slide by. The thunderbird realized his error shortly after that, and silently apologized. Squall didn't care. The two could hear each other's thoughts, feel each other's pain and emotions. Guardian Forces and humans connect as one.

Quistis came back after a couple of minutes, and Leonhart followed her in, feeling very tired. "See you in the morning," Trepe whispered, and walked further down on the room to sleep on the floor. Squall had noticed this bed was on the right next to the one Marianne was sleeping on. He looked upon her while the lamp beside his bed remained on. She looked peaceful and relaxed as she slept. _"Squall, get some rest,"_ said his life partner. Squall felt some eagerness from him. …Why? _Not important. None of my business,_ he scowled to himself. He promised himself a long time ago he wouldn't meddle in anyone's affairs, so why should Quezacotl be an exception?

Leonhart slowly took off his leather coat, along with his gunblade strapped to his waist, and dropped it on the floor to his left, beside the bed. He turned out the light, and closed his eyes… As for that shower, he would worry about it tomorrow morning. He sure as hell didn't want to spend all morning smelling like Iguion.


	6. Nightly Visit

****

Alright, time for Rinoa, Quezacotl, and Bahamut to communicate with Marianne within her dream.

Lyrics used in this chapter are from a song called "Separate" by Sevendust, once again off the "Seasons" album.

Chapters 7 and 8 should be up next week by the way!

Chapter 6: Nightly Visit

****

Could I be the only one here?

The one and only mistake?

Brightness came to Marianne's eyelids. Was the sun up already? As she opened her eyes, she found herself sitting on a hard, light gray surface. She noticed that her head pain was gone. "That's a relief," she found herself saying out loud, and got to her feet.

A human figure had stood a few feet away from where she was standing. Dressed in a sky blue sweater looking coat, sleeves cut off. A black band of a tattoo adorned around her left arm. Her face looked so familiar. _Oh my God, it's Rinoa,_ Marianne had told herself, feeling like trembling all over again. She looked so beautiful. Her face just looked so adorable, like the face of a doll. The few red highlights were noticeable on her raven black hair.

As Heartilly looked upon Marianne, she spoke up. "Hi, as you may know…I'm Rinoa." It was a slow, calm approach as she stepped in closer. "You've come to haunt me, is that it?" Marianne asked, feeling her voice go unstable once again. Her eyes were instantly watering, and with that, she was stepping backwards. "No! No, I'm not mad," Rinoa calmly said, at first alarmed, but quickly became calm. She understood. "It's not your fault…on my death I mean."

Marianne couldn't believe this was happening, and noticed that they were standing in no place special. It was nothing but grayness. This was designed by Hyne, because she wanted Marianne to pay attention to what was going on. She made the scenery to be very dull.

"…Yes it is," Marianne replied in a tearful whisper, knowing and feeling that it was her fault for stopping Squall and Irvine, but had to. Rinoa slowly, gently wrapped both arms around her. Heartilly had wanted to do this for a while, and mentally thanked Hyne for allowing her to do so. "No sweetie… It's not… You were scared and had to go to them. Edea had brought you here against your will. I understand…" To Marianne, this felt totally unreal. But she could actually feel Rinoa hugging her. She heard her voice very clearly.

"…How are you even here?" she squeaked, and trembled in Heartilly's arms as she looked into her eyes. "This is a dream, Marianne," Heartilly gently told her in response, and moved the back of her hand, brushing a tear off Marianne's face. There was no reply, but only a shaky inhale of air. "Shh, I know it must be so difficult for you," Rinoa soothed as she felt like she had to comfort this person as much as she could. "There's no need to tell me… I know everything. I was told by the one who sent me."

The next form to appear in front of Marianne's vision had taken the girl back in shock. _"Hello Marianne,"_ said a very, very large bird. Rinoa released, and never took her eyes off of Marianne, tears in her own eyes. She was crying for her. It was like she completely understood how she felt. And Hyne had told her just recently that the Earth girl has lived a very calm, peaceful life before Edea made the switch. There was nothing to worry about before then.

Quezacotl could see that Marianne was afraid, and couldn't blame her. It was very natural on instinct to be afraid. To be tossed by force into a world that Marianne never knew existed. Far from home, and the friendly faces she cared about. Rinoa had followed her gaze, and assured her, "That's Quezacotl, if you didn't figure it out by now." "…Quezacotl?" Marianne repeated. The bird nodded. _"There's no need to be afraid, young one,"_ the gentle bird said.

Seeing a Guardian Force for the first time, close and personal, had brought shock and awe. All at once. He was five times bigger than the size of a golden eagle on her home world. Those dark orange, amber eyes expressed a calmness. The colors of his feathers, oh wow. Marianne had never seen anything so beautiful. Heartilly noticed her astonished reaction to Quezacotl. "Go on and touch him…if you like," she said in comforting words. A grin was worn on her face. She wiped a tear off her face with one hand, and used the other to lead Marianne closer to the creature of thunder and lightning storms. "It's okay, he won't bite you or anything," Rinoa assured as Marianne heard gentle laughter. Was this bird laughing? The laughter came again. _"Yes, I'm laughing,"_ Quezacotl answered, reading Marianne's thoughts.

Cautiously in a slow pace, Marianne approached closer and closer as Quezacotl slowly lowered his head to her eye level. Wow, this was indeed extraordinary to her. A beautiful, telepathic bird! Slowly, the girl placed a hand on the side of Quezacotl's head, as if hypnotized into doing it by Quezacotl's captivating eyes. The bird closed his eyes and emitted a soft high pitched cooing sound. To her, he felt soft. Those feathers on his head felt pretty soft to touch. _"Your touch is so kind and gentle, like your spirit,"_ he told Marianne, meaning he liked her sensitive stroking on his feathers. She inhaled deeply, as her hand remained where it was. Quezacotl focused his orange eyes on her and continued to speak, but in a soft voice. To Marianne, it wasn't like he was actually talking, and his voice seemed to echo a little. The placid sounding voice was somehow projected from him. Certainly not from his small, palely yellow beak. It wasn't moving. She could feel Rinoa massage the tension from her shoulders. _"I'm Squall's Guardian Force,"_ Quezacotl told Marianne as she finally let her arm rest at her side. _"I wanted to meet you. You may not have noticed, but Squall hasn't been himself ever since you've arrived."_ "Oh?" Rinoa reacted, unsure of what he meant.

A moment later, Bahamut arrived. Quezacotl turned his head to face the dragon. _"Your arrival was too quick. You could have at least waited another three minutes."_ Marianne followed his gaze, and felt herself gasp of Bahamut's fearsome appearance. _"I couldn't stand to wait any longer,"_ he growled, but knew better than to come any closer. He remained feet away from the other three. "…Who is he?" Marianne asked Quezacotl in a small voice. The first thing she noticed about the newest arrival in her dream was the massive size. Much, much larger than Quezacotl himself. _"That's Bahamut. He's been assigned to be your Guardian Force. He's arrived, and is now junctioned to you."_ Her eyeballs widened upon the king of dragons.

With a gentle nod in agreement, Bahamut somehow spoke to her. _"Despite my fearsome appearance, I'm here to help you. I'm to be your life partner until Mother Hyne says otherwise."_ Mother Hyne? The name didn't ring any bells to Marianne. "She's the goddess of Gala's 'heaven', as you would call it," Rinoa explained to her gently. "I understand that this seems so strange to you, but you have to trust us on this." She placed an arm around her. "It's alright," she said as she was gently leading Marianne to this really, big, dangerous looking beast.

And from what Marianne had heard, she sensed a bit of irritation coming from Bahamut. Bahamut sensed that she noticed. He slowly lowered his head, as Marianne coiled back inwardly to defend herself. His head was HUGE. His bluish eyeballs were about the size of her head! She saw those thin horns arch up and curl back on his head in a parallel direction. Marianne had stopped five feet from Bahamut. _"I admit, I didn't just want to be your life partner from the start, but I was assigned. There's no turning away from it." _ Marianne didn't say a word, but just gaped at him. _Life partner?!_ her mind screamed, in shock of the concept. It didn't seem to fit so easily. Why would she get a Guardian Force this way? Why now?

"It's alright. It's okay. Bahamut's on our side." Rinoa said, while looking at the beast. _"Rinoa is correct,"_ Bahamut said. His own voice, or what Marianne had heard, sounded so much different from Quezacotl's. It sounded bold, strong, and had a bit of masculinity. _Like Ah-nold? _Marianne thought to herself, mimicking the voice of the movie star from popular action films on Earth. Bahamut smiled inwardly as he laid down before her. He remembered what Hyne had told him, that she liked dragons. And from observing this mortal, Bahamut sensed they would get along just fine. _"You're very observant, aren't you?"_ he said, offering a compliment. "Uh…yeah…" Marianne replied, in a very nervous manner. But that didn't stop Bahamut from continuing to be friendly and make her feel welcome in his presence. _"You like dragons, or am I mistaken?"_ he continued, trying to make her feel comfortable around him. It was the least he could do.

Rinoa watched the astonishment appear on Marianne's face. How could Bahamut know such of a thing? Heartilly almost wanted to laugh, but knew better. And to do so would have been immature. Instead, she explained, "A GF shares your mind with you, and is directly connected to your thoughts, feelings. The two of you are one." Quezacotl added, _"I've currently junctioned myself to you, but this is only temporary until we're done in what's needed to be said."_ Marianne turned to Rinoa. "Same as them? …Are you a GF now?" she asked curiously but Rinoa shook her head, smiling. _She seems so…naive._ "No, just think of me as your guardian angel sweetie." she soothed as Marianne felt like she had to sit down on this. Rinoa seated herself beside her as Quezacotl sat beside her as well, opposite of Heartily. Bahamut was lying on his stomach, across from them.

Bahamut and Quezacotl could feel Marianne's eagerness to know what's going on. Rinoa could see the question through her eyes as she faced her to say, "There are a few things you must know. Which do you want to hear? The good or the bad?" "Um, good," Marianne replied, feeling not too good about all of this. She had a very strong feeling of dread, as the remaining tears were falling from her eyes. The Guardian Forces could just feel the strong tension coming from her.

Hyne made it to be Bahamut's obligation to tell Marianne of these things, to which he had no problem with that mostly. It slightly bothered him on how sad or angry Marianne would feel. He was told from God that she was a bit unpredictable at times. This had brought a bit of worry from the Guardian of Wisdom. Marianne could hear the deep breathing of this amazing looking creature. _He looks so tough and strong…oh my God,_ she thought, to which the Guardian Forces with her had easily heard the thoughts. Bahamut smiled inwardly again. He could still feel some fear from her to him. By experience of being junctioned to someone before, he was patient and knew it would take time for her to get used to having him around, inside her mind. Probably more, because she's been having problems in accepting that all of this had been real all along.

**And I don't mind the sound of your voice**

But hate the words that you say

That you say…

Can you separate? Separate me from the sin?

Is it not too late, to try and start again…?

After a short minute of silence, Bahamut reported what Marianne should know about. _"The good news I bring are that your god is with you. God…from Earth… Hyne found him and brought him to her domain for your emotional support." _"…Really?" Marianne squeaked, finding all of what was happening very hard to believe. Dragons, sorceresses, and monsters only exist in books, video games, or movies on her world. _"Yes Marianne. God also sends a message, knowing you would worry about your mother and father about now. He said to me that they are alive and safe. The sorceress has not harmed them."_ Believing this, Marianne silently nodded, following by her unstable reply. Her voice was wavering up and down. "That's good," she replied. "Yeah," Rinoa agreed, smiling. She was trying to cheer her up somehow, but knew it wouldn't work. The bad news was going to break Marianne's heart. _"_

The bad news," Bahamut began, followed by a very breathy sigh. His eyes closed for a brief moment and then reopened as he spoke. _"The bad news is that Sorceress Ultimecia, in using Edea, has possessed the both of your parents. That's what God had found out in the last few minutes before Hyne had found him…" _The way he said all of this was bluntly, but the dragon king knew she was supposed to be told of this. _Don't forget about the fact that Earth is doomed,_ Marianne thought to herself, which to that response, she could feel the Guardians' sympathy for her.

****

Can you separate all the darkness from my eyes…?

Slowly absorbing this knowledge, Marianne didn't say a word, and froze in position. A fearful look was stricken upon her face. It was as if Bahamut had cast a Petrify spell, but knowing better, Guardian Forces could only stock up magic. It would be up to the mortals to use it. _"Marianne, don't feel sad," _Quezacotl told her, moving his wing to touch her shoulder._ "Your parents will be safe. They may not have much free will anymore, but fear not. We want to help you get you home, to save Earth from that evil woman."_ Instantly, the Guardians had felt the heartache. _"If you have faith, maybe you'll be back on Earth shortly,"_ Bahamut called to her, in attempt to be of comfort. Marianne closed her eyes and shook her head from side to side, rapidly. This was dreadfully upsetting for her.

Marianne was feeling utterly helpless by then. _"Pull yourself together! It's not all over yet!"_ her Guardian Force confronted, slowly getting up to stand on all fours. "No," Marianne replied automatically, fear turning into anger. "It's not going to be over." Bahamut and Quezacotl could feel the anger bubble up, but there was a slight disapproval from Quezacotl. _"Anger is better than despair,"_ Bahamut encouraged. "She is going SO going to pay… " Marianne hissed, getting to her feet as well. Rinoa was getting up too, in trying to calm her down when there was a glimpse of feminine laughter. It sounded older. The dragon growled in irritation, _"She's here…"_

****

TRY AND COVER ME 'CAUSE I'D RATHER BE ALONE NOW!

Out of the dismal and flat air, Edea Kramer's form had begun to slowly materialize. "No," Rinoa said, feeling afraid of what was happening. "Bitch," Marianne cursed at the evil one through her teeth, really in the mood to want to kick her ass. Her eyeballs were irritably burning through the large amount of crying, but that was easily ignored and pushed to the side. This person has caused her a great deal of pain. Now that she was here, was Marianne going to stand around and watch Edea poke fun at her? _HELL NO!!!_ Marianne's brain screamed with inner rage. _"Marianne, don't try to attack!"_ Quezacotl strongly advised of her, and unfolded a wing to prevent her from doing so. Rinoa had a hand on Marianne's shoulder. As she tried to pass through them, the materializing of Edea was complete. "No, Marianne…" Rinoa said, holding her back. "Let go," Marianne said in disagreeing terms. The sorceress laughed again…

****

Wash away the blood you spilt and lay down in the bed that you made

Don't mean nothin', Don't mean nothin' to me…

Edea was sitting down in a chair in what looked like a meeting room. There were papers scattered on the wooden table here and there. Nothing important to this new dictator of Earth. She didn't need documents or files. She knew a lot about Earth, from looking into Marianne's mind like a file cabinet. All she needed was her own dark magic.

Already, it seemed too easy for her. In arriving Marianne's house, Edea had gained instant ability to put suggestive thoughts into the minds of Marianne's parents as they slept. Thoughts indicating they had no daughter, and to not question about the bedroom in which Marianne was in before Edea switched places with her. They were told to arise and to specifically pack some things into the large and black book bag that leaned beside the shelf in Marianne's room, filled with stuffed animals, video games, CDs, and other items. After that, Edea mentally instructed them to follow her to the backyard outside, asking for the keys to one of their cars. With ease, President George W. Bush had been literally kicked out of the White House, by his own security people. If the citizens of Earth were more alert and aware of what was going on, a number of people would cheer, without a doubt. While others would stand around, confused, bewildered with the burning question: What is she doing?

But indeed Earth was easy for her to take control of, any new face she would come across would result in being a pawn for this world domination. One to help her along in the process.

As the woman in black feather trim dress sat in the chair, she was speaking. But with her dark brown eyes were focusing on something else, not toward her parents who sat dully at the other end of the table, eyes gazing into her and not saying a word. The china doll face smirked. She was amused of what she was witnessing before her.

****

There was nothing I could do

Nothing I could say to pull you away…to pull you away…

She could see them quite clearly, watching the Earth girl struggle from Rinoa and Quezacotl's grasp. She thought of this to be sheer enjoyment, until Bahamut broke out into a loud, infuriating roar. Hearing that over and over would give Edea, and Ultimecia altogether a serious headache. She had observed and learned that Hyne has assigned him to Marianne as her Guardian Force.

But she saw Marianne break free from those that were holding her back, she couldn't help but go back into laughter when the weak fool tried to take a dive at her. She magically altered her vision in seeing through Marianne's dream. "You better not hurt them!" Edea heard Marianne holler. "I have no intention to. Your mother and father are loyal servants to me," the sorceress laughed, and waited for Marianne's heated response. But Bahamut piped in, _"YOU. SELFISH, FOOLISH DEMON," _ he roared, making Marianne coil back and cover her ears in terror. _"Bahamut, calm down,"_ Quezacotl calmly suggested. The thunderbird stepped up to Marianne, gesturing to the dragon's new life partner. _"You're scaring her."_ Edea felt herself shake her head, making a mockery of this. "What an impressive choice Hyne made in choosing a Guardian Force for Marianne. I'm sure the two of you will make the new 'game plot' interesting…"

Marianne's father stood up from the other end of the table, holding Marianne's backpack in both of his arms. His eyes were sky blue, glowing, like when Seifer was under the similar spell. His facial features were emotionless. There was not a smile through his gray mustache and beard. Edea nodded with a smirk and made a simple gesture for him to slide the bag down to her at the other end of the long conference table. With a slightly hard push, the man obeyed, easily influenced under Edea's power…****

Can you separate? Separate me from the sin?

Is it not too late, to try and start again?

Can you separate, all the darkness from my eyes?

Separate…

Through the other side, inside Gala, Marianne had watched and trembled in fear and anger as Edea received her backpack. Her eyes widened a little through the tears as she had witnessed what her father had done. The evil one had wanted her to see it. And another taunt that would echo throughout Marianne's ears was what she craved. _"Here are some of your belongings. Your old bedroom is a concern of your parents, who want you no longer. They even claim to not have a daughter anymore-"_ "BULLSHIT!!" Marianne interrupted, as mad as a human can get over a situation as this. "YOU just have them under your control!! I know in their souls that they are worried about me, so don't give me crap like that, you WITCH!!" Rinoa Heartilly wasn't just going to stand by, and gently placed her hand on one of Marianne's shoulders to help her settle down. _"You know what Marianne?" _Edea chimed, flashing one of her gentle, and deeply disturbing cold smiles that sent a chill up the girl's spine. Oh how the girl hated her cold smiles. The trademark smirk upon evil Edea's face was so perfect, emotionless, and flawless that it scared her. Not a wrinkle formed on the sorceress's face. _"Stop worrying about them. They'll be fine and safe around me. I'll take good care of your people for you."_ She emitted a laugh, which caused Marianne to yell and curse at her furthermore…

In the hotel room, Squall had been awake and was now trying to wake Marianne up, who trembled and talked in her sleep. Whatever she had said in her dream was said in a lower, calmer voice. At first he just observed in annoyance of her trembling and whimpering through whatever nightmare she was experiencing. Then after listening to her cursings at whoever was making her mad in this dream, Squall realized he couldn't go back to sleep unless she was out of the nightmare, and then to sleep silently and peacefully like the other people of the room were doing.

For a few years as a young cadet, Leonhart thought it was best to train himself to be a light sleeper and keep his ears alert for any sound that would mean danger. He regretted his sensitive hearing on this night. _What do you expect?_ his own arrogance answered him. _She doesn't even want to be here. Not with Edea on her world doing Hyne knows what._

He was being a little rough in shaking her by the shoulders, because doing it gently wasn't working. "Get up," he told her in a low, annoyed voice. "You're having a nightmare…" Seifer, had awoken from sleeping on the floor, right beside the bed Marianne was trying to rest on. He had heard Squall mumbling, followed by Marianne's whimpering. As he got to his feet, he watched her shiver. "Squall, what are you doing?!" Almasy hissed, shoving his childhood rival away from the sleeping girl. "Fine, you wake her then…" Squall muttered under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I won't let you get away with this…" Marianne said in her sleep as she continued to tremble. "Marianne?" Seifer began to call her, lightly shaking her awake.

Squall was calling her name. "Marianne… Get up Marianne." he continued, with Seifer helping him out…

Their voices were being heard in the dream and as Edea smiled, amused. _"Go to your lion, Marianne. He calls for you,"_ she said, relishing this moment. Quezacotl turned to Marianne and watched her break down. _"I have to go now,"_ he said. Marianne looked to him, her eyes begging of him not to leave and fight Edea off, like Bahamut was attempting to do. A beam of blue fire was going right through the illusion of what appeared to be Sorceress Edea. He was trying to Mega Flare her.

Squall's and Seifer's voices was becoming clearer and clearer by the moment as Quezacotl said, _"Squall is awake, and I have to return to him. Don't worry. I'll help you through him. Marianne, it was a pleasure meeting you…" _With that, the bright and colorful Guardian of Thunder vanished.

Marianne then turned to Rinoa, who nodded in agreement that she needed to go too. They hugged. "I'll be watching over you. I'll see you again tomorrow night, okay?" Heartilly said to her, voice cracking in wishing she could be with her more often, but knew it wasn't going to happen. She was to accept this fate in being in the afterlife, forever. "Do me a favor?" Rinoa added and whispered softly into her ear. "Take care of Squall and Seifer for me…" She released from Marianne and smiled softly, in friendly terms. Edea was too distracted by Bahamut to say something to crush their spirits.

"No, don't go!" Marianne wailed as she saw Rinoa vanish in front of her. She crouched down and fell to her knees, weeping. Bahamut to her right was roaring, and decided to attack another way. Edea was in connection to Marianne's mind still, meaning the dragon was also connected to the evil woman. He was too blind with anger to realize this before. In the next instant, he watched as Edea clasp her head with both hands, screaming at the top of her lungs. It was like her own brain cells were burning away. Whatever the Guardian of Wisdom seemed to be doing, this was a clear sign from Bahamut to tell Edea/Ultimecia to back off. This was causing Marianne to be even more afraid. _"LEAVE HER ALONE, WOMAN!"_ Bahamut bellowed, in standing up to Edea for Marianne. Edea's screaming echoed throughout all of the dream dimension Hyne had constructed. The frightened one was trying to block out the screaming but she could not, as she heard Squall's voice more clearly by the next few seconds…


	7. Bloodshot, Deadbeat, and Lack of Sleep

****

Well, that was quite a dream in the previous chapter eh? Again, thanks for reviewing people. The reviews I'm getting are awesome. And one particularly from Water Goddess made me BEAM! "My heart was beating really fast. It's SO exciting and…breath taking." Hell yeah, that's the kind of reviews that make me smile big.

Interesting fact: I got the title for this chapter from a Green Day song. "Church on Sunday"

Lyrics used: "Figure 09" by Linkin Park!!!

Chapter 7: Bloodshot, Deadbeat, and Lack of Sleep

****

Nothing ever stops all these thoughts

And the pain attached to them

Sometimes I wonder why this is happenin'…

"Get up," Squall called to her again, feeling a little worried over this. He heard Quezacotl's voice assure him. _"She's waking up Squall,"_ he told Leonhart gently. With that, they both watched Marianne's eyes pop open. She sat up rather quickly, causing Squall to stand back. Seifer had done the same, afraid of what she might do. Perhaps she would be scared if she were to see them right beside her. As she looked to Squall, she thought of Quezacotl, being inside his mind. The fear in her eyes have softened a little. As for Leonhart, he could see it and felt confused…along with a little discomfort.

What came next was unexpected. The overwhelming pain of Marianne's head injury had struck upon her in an instant. She could feel great discomfort as she laid down. _"That boulder hit you harder than I thought,"_ Bahamut said within her mind, sounding surprised. This made her twitch and search to the source of the voice. Then she was forced to stop by that unbearable head pain. Squall saw her lay down, then jerk and look around before wincing in pain. _"I'm not around you. I'm inside you. Inside your mind,"_ said Bahamut. Almasy asked in a soft voice, "You okay? You were having a bad dream." She let out a soft moan in response and tried her hardest to sit up.

Just then, there was a clattering noise from behind them. Squall was the first to turn around, using his improved sense of hearing to see an object that was leaning against the far left wall from everyone. There was no need to turn on a light, because the sun was just rising, providing enough light through the windows. This didn't brighten Marianne's mood any, because she just wanted to go back to sleep. She was really tired and felt like her head was going to swell up in pain. In her own words, she felt really shitty at this time.

A chorus of the rest but Selphie had woken up. Zell was on the bed directly across from Marianne's as he slowly sat up and stretched his arms. "What's going on?" he yawned. He looked in front of him to see Marianne pick up her pillow and slowly held it up against the wall behind her with one hand. She slowly scooted backwards to rest her head up against it.

Quistis was on the floor, in between the bed where Selphie slept like a rock, and the bed in which Zell was getting off of. Irvine was standing from the downward left corner of the room, where he slept, holding his rifle in one hand by his side.

Leonhart had walked over and brought back the heavy black book bag that Marianne's father had given to Edea last night. It was really heavy too, so he had to drag it across the carpeted floor. "What's in that bag? I haven't seen it before…" Quistis wondered as she helped Squall lift it up and place it on the bed he slept on.

****

It's like nothing I can do will distract me when

I think of how I shot myself in the back again…

__

I shouldn't have gotten the damn game, Marianne thought to herself regretfully. _But how was I to know this was going to happen?_ The wise dragon could sense her grumpiness. Also, due to the amount of pressure on Marianne's left temple, he only spoke in a soft voice. By a medium whisper, when his normal voice was loud. Like, nearly booming loud. _"No one was expecting this to happen. Not even Hyne herself, who wants all the best for you," _he confided to her. _"Don't blame yourself. Like you have told them before, you are innocent."_

Seifer had noticed her hair being a mess again. He was out of smart aleck remarks for now though. Marianne shifted her red, irritated eyes to focus on him. She slowly opened her mouth to speak, and felt like she was straining in trying to talk. Her throat even felt dry. She thought of something positive, giving Almasy a hint as to what her dream was about. "…Rinoa says hi." This woke up Almasy a little more. "You saw Rinoa in your dream?" he asked, as she nodded her head slowly. She felt very uncomfortable. The pillow helped cushion her headache some, but it still hurt like hell. Squall, Zell, and Quistis's attention drifted from the back pack to Marianne. "I heard you talk in your sleep," Leonhart informed her. Marianne's eyes opened slightly, as she looked to him. "…What was I saying?" she asked, forcing the words out of her. To the direct truth, she didn't feel like talking, and only wanted to rest a little more… But from seeing that the sun was up and receiving the pain she felt, that wasn't going to happen.

****

'Cause from the infinite words I could say

Put all the pain you gave to me on display…

There was a short pause, but Squall managed to recall the last thing she had subconsciously said. "The last thing you said was, 'I won't let you get away with this.' " The others looked at her and saw a reaction of slight surprise. "Um…" Marianne began, remembering the dream clearly. "That statement wasn't toward Rinoa. It was toward Edea, who's got a really sick ego." Her voice sounded pretty groggy to everyone. Even to herself. "What…the hell?" Zell quirked, and sat on the edge of Marianne's hotel bed with a concerned look in his facial features. "What happened?"

__

I don't believe this… Edea and Rinoa? Haunting Marianne in her dreams? thought the glum Squall as he got an automatic response from his Guardian Force. _"Believe it, because I was there. I met her through her dream. Rinoa and Bahamut were there too. Hyne sent him to junction to Marianne as her Guardian Force overnight." _The aloof young man's eyes had widened of this information. "…Bahamut's your Guardian?" Leonhart asked Marianne in shock, who nodded. _Good ole Quezacotl,_ she thought in realizing that the gentle bird must have told him. "What? …I don't understand," Trepe said, feeling indeed perplexed. She was standing with Squall next to the bed across from her. "Quezacotl has just told me that Bahamut had been sent by Hyne to junction to her while she was asleep." "No way!" Zell interrupted. This bit of information seemed to have gotten to him the most. "That's never happened before to…like, anyone!" "Well, Quezacotl never lies. He also says he was there with her in the dream," Leonhart remarked as he looked at Dincht. The spiked blonde teen turned to Marianne, complaining, "Well that's not fair! And I've heard he's one of the toughest Guardians around." The Earth girl felt the emotion of pride flowing from Bahamut, and softly smiled. "Zell, you're making him want to faint," she told him as a light joke. That got some laughter from everyone, but Squall and Selphie. Even Marianne heard Bahamut laugh and felt that echo inside her mind. It was a little loud, so it caused her to squint in pain once again. All the laughter had come to an abrupt halt then.

Irvine had realized Selphie was still asleep and walked over to wake her up. "Time to get up little lady," Kinneas told Timlitt playfully and lightly shook her on the shoulder. She slowly fluttered her eyes opened, and a warm smile appeared on her face. "Hey Irvy… Is it alright if I call you Irvy?" Hours ago, before Marianne's arrival to Gala, Selphie had only just met the cowboy. And Kinneas had flirted with her at the time. Timlitt found this to be funny, and jokingly flirted back. It's a shame that Irvine didn't see through her.

"Sure," Irvine smiled as Selphie sat up and joined in with everyone else, who were apparently staring at them. The usually optimistic one noticed the way Marianne was sitting up, pillow behind her head as she sat up against the wall. "Aww, does your head still hurt?" she asked her in concern. Squall quickly got back on track, trying to solve this puzzle as to why Marianne was freaking him out earlier. "What else happened in your dream? …Anything?"

****

But didn't realize, instead of setting it free

I took what I hated and made it a part of me…

Grumpily, Marianne felt her eyes narrow as she recalled the parts about Edea in her memory. A part of her just wanted to break down and cry all over again, but her eyes were drained of all moisture at the time. Trying to calm down, she inhaled and exhaled heavily a couple of times. Her technique just wasn't working this time. She was much too angry to have been told that her parents are Edea's puppets. "The bitch freakin' possessed my parents…" she told them rather bluntly. Squall felt his eyebrows raise in surprise. "She was harassing me about them," Marianne continued. _"Marianne, take it easy. Remember your head injury…?"_ Bahamut cautioned.

Marianne then looked to the backpack. "That is mine…by the way," she flatly stated. The label. The bright orange Hot Wheels car she put all the way in the front see-through pocket for decoration. Yes, it was definitely her book bag. Putting the dream and the most current clue together, she hissed, "I think I know what's going on here. She's cleaning out my room." She trembled, frightened and upset. "It's heavy," Squall admitted as he started to unzip the pocket all the way in the back. The black bag had a bunch of pockets. Two big ones. The rest in the front were much smaller.

Yo, what's in it Squall?" Dincht asked the SeeD squad leader, out of curiosity. The rest of the group watched as Leonhart reached in and pulled out…a square glass case. It had a light blue color, with an interesting looking design. Quistis found the colors and the radio design interesting. There was something written in pen. There were also words in print, but they were Xed out. "New Artist. New Album" In replacing the words there was a handwritten title: RENT and Other Various Artists. Marianne wanted to get up, and tried to, but Seifer placed a gentle hand on Marianne's shoulder. A signal that he didn't want her to move because he knew that she knew she was too hurt to move for right now. "Squall, show it to Marianne," Almasy commanded. Marianne easily recognized it as Squall did so and calmly stated, "That…would be one of my CDs."

__

CDs? Squall quirked to himself as his look towards Marianne expressed bewilderment. "CDs?" Selphie repeated the thought out loud, unaware of what he was thinking. "What are those?" Quistis reached in and pulled out another glass case, which was thicker than the one Squall was holding. It had a black and white photo of three men. The background scenery appeared to be some sort of city. There were a few words on the cover of this case: GREEN DAY, WARNING:

Marianne reacted in disbelief. NO CDS?! And this world was supposed to be slightly more advanced than hers! Squall opened the light case he held, and it came apart. _Oops._ "Don't worry about that," Marianne quickly told him in her continuously low and exhausted tone of voice. "It's been like that for a long time now. I know how to put it back together." Squall felt a little embarrassed, and a bit annoyed inside until he looked upon what was inside of the case. It was a disc. One of those similar discs used as computer software on Gala, like they were used in Marianne's world. "Computer software?" Squall said as Quistis, Selphie, and Zell crowded around him to see. Marianne shook her head in disagreement, slightly grinning. This was funny to her. They must have computer software like Earth's, but no CDs?! _Seriously, there is something wrong here._ "CD means Compact Disc. It's not like computer software, but it has music on it…" Immediately she added, "And I assume the computers here don't play CDs…"

She looked past the group quickly, and saw something else. Her CD player was in the same spot that her backpack had been. Either it just appeared, or Squall hadn't noticed it at first. It was small, white, and round with grey speakers on the sides. There were buttons all over the front of it in working the most of the controls of the CD/radio player. Two switches on the right hand side: the one closest to a human hand is the power switch, and the other is the radio switch, in turning the radio to AM, FM, to just turn it off to play a CD.

Marianne pointed behind them. "Look, there's my CD player over there," she informed the the group around her as Zell went to go get it. "What the…?" Seifer quipped, not really understanding. "How did that get here?" Marianne knew the answer, and said it in pure hatred. "Edea…"

****

It never goes away…it never goes away…

And now you've become a part of me

You'll always be right here

You've become a part of me

You'll always be my fear…

The smile had completely vanished without a trace as Marianne mentioned the name. The tension within her came back in a heartbeat. _I'm gonna kill her…I swear I'm going to kill her…_ Everyone else could see through her. "But, why would she even do this?" Zell asked as he placed the CD playing device next to the book bag on the bed across to her right. Marianne sighed irritably in answering. Squall felt that she knew the answer, and looked directly towards her as Marianne explained furthermore on Edea having control over her parents. Holding the broken CD case, he handed it to her as she gladly received it. "She made my mom and dad believe that I don't exist…and in thinking they don't know me, they certainly would ponder about my own bedroom…back at home…" She said this rather slowly because deep down inside, it hurt her. And putting the case together had helped calm her mind a little bit. If she mentioned what she just said with making eye contact, it would hurt her inside to. Bahamut knew it hurt her so much to try and accept it, but remained neutral in emotion, for now.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Zell apologized as his eyes slowly looked to the floor in guilt for bringing the matter up. As her hands curled into fists, Marianne was trembling again. Almasy was fuming, angry of the sorceress for doing such vile things. Selphie walked up to Marianne and gave her a hug. She could see that she needed one. And her voice was becoming unstable again. "Well, what are we waiting for then?" Irvine said. Quistis nodded solemnly in agreement and said, "Let's get prepared for the new day ahead, and bring Marianne with us back to Balamb Garden."****

I'd see you in every thought I had and then

The thoughts slowly found words attached to them…

__

Yeah, the Headmaster has to tell them what he's kept in secret, Marianne thought glumly to herself, finally stopping to try and fight off her headache. _Hell, I'll make Cid tell them if I have to. _From feeling her emotions, Bahamut believed her. She could definitely lose her temper, and might decide to beat the truth out of him. That's what the dragon inside of her was getting, and saw little images of the situation. _"Oh I think you got something you want to tell them, right?"_ Marianne in her imagination threatened the imaginary Headmaster of Balamb Garden. In her mind, he was cowering before her, behind that big wooden desk of his. This was followed by the blurred images of a possibility in Squall pulling her back. _Yeah, him and everyone else, except maybe Seifer, have much respect for him. _Bahamut kept silent, reading over how smart his life partner was.

"How about we all get showers and something to eat first?" Zell's suggestions had caused Marianne to break away from her thoughts. She didn't need to shower again, but eating? _…Not real hungry, but I gotta try to eat a little something. Staying in this reality is much more dangerous than mine._ _"I suggest a good hearty meal for your breakfast, no matter how hungry you feel,"_ Bahamut counter pointed in concern for her health. If the Guardian Force was to remain in her mind and feel her body's wants and needs, he would not be able to bear malnutrition. "Well, I'm gonna go down there…to the lounge," Zell announced to everyone. "I wanna see if there's any hotdogs." He left in a hurry, knowing how scarce hotdogs were on Gala. _Zell, the hotdog maniac,_ Marianne recalled in memory. From the times when she thought that this reality was only a game, there was one journal entry in Selphie's online diary in the computer panels of the classrooms in Balamb Garden. It was kinda funny. Maybe he would write that same message down, despite the big change around here?

Selphie had found Quistis's hairbrush. "Hey, how about I do your hair? Hmm?" she suggested, wearing a perky smile on her face. "I promise I'll be gentle." "Sure…" Marianne breathed out in response and slowly sat up, still holding the CD case in her hands. The pain still wouldn't die down, and she was forced to deal with it. And now she had a Guardian Force on her case too.

__

Damn it, I almost forgot about you, she groaned to herself in adapting to realize she had no way to hide her own thoughts from the dragon she met in her dream. _Look, I'll just have a piece of fruit or something to eat. "Marianne…"_ The GF of Wisdom argued. _"You know that you are not in your usual luxury anymore. If you eat too little, you won't even survive here in Gala."_

With a sigh, she pushed Bahamut to the side for now, to which he didn't like at all, but what could he do? He let her be, hoping that she would learn a lesson from this later during the day. He also knew the others would get worried then as well.

Selphie was indeed being gentle in brushing Marianne's hair, as Squall was taking his shower first. Too late for anyone to have their say. Seifer sat on the bed across from the girls. Marianne almost felt like asking him to get an ice bag from the lounge. Almost. And Marianne was dressed, but she hadn't worn the new clothing a whole day.

__

No, just forget about brushing my teeth today. My teeth won't be falling out anytime soon, she thought to herself. _"You'd be surprised,"_ Bahamut stated in a quick reply. For a moment, the Guardian Force had stumped her. Then she managed to figure out what he meant that by. On terms of battle…she could lose some teeth. A definite possibility.

"After Squall gets done, I'm soooo taking my shower," Selphie blurted while Marianne twitched as Selphie was having a bit of trouble with one tangle in her thick, curly hair. "Gosh, how do you deal with your hair?! It's so thick!" Timlitt pondered to Marianne as she managed to finally get the knot untangled. "Detangler spray…." answered Marianne in a low voice. It was the _only_ way to tame her hair. Otherwise it would take a little while to get ready for a brand new day, like how it was now. "Oh, well that explains it," Timlitt figured. "Well, sometime today, I'll make sure you get some…"

Within the bathroom, Squall was drying his hair in front of the mirror. His hair wasn't a hassle to deal with. Not as much as Marianne's… Anyway, Leonhart was sulking to himself again, thinking about how last night's events had impacted him overall. _Horrible…_ In one word, he managed to summarize it all. With that, his mind began to wander in different directions, thinking about what would happen next. _Would I have to just be sent on another mission when I get back? What would the Headmaster do about Marianne? Would she stay with us or be sent off to be somebody else's problem?_ _"Marianne will make sure she stays with you and the rest of those she's familiar with, because it's not like she can trust anyone else with this situation," _Quezacotl said from inside his own mind. Squall was curious. _What do you mean?_ The thunderbird let out a sigh, hoping that what he was going to say would never happen. Squall had felt some dread from his Guardian. _It's bad if the Headmaster won't let her stay with us, _he suspected. _"She might lose her temper,"_ Quezacotl added in agreement. This surprised Leonhart. He didn't even think Marianne had a temper. _"She doesn't get riled up often, but I'm feeling that situation might be one of the occasions."_

What are you trying to say? Would she attack Cid? Leonhart thought to the Guardian in concern. _"Verbally,"_ Quezacotl assured his life partner. _"In looking through her memories… with Hyne, Marianne had claimed to never be a fighter on physical terms. That is true. She's never fought a battle in her entire life. But then again…there's no telling how she will react if Cid refuses to take her in, which is not likely."_

Squall took note of it as he was changing into his casual wear, starting with his ring and necklace. Two of his only special possessions. The ring was his mother's, as he was told back in childhood. The necklace was something he bought in Balamb on the way to the Garden to apply for becoming a SeeD, in which he was for a few days. The third special possession was his gunblade, in which he named Revolver. He always made sure to dedicate some time into cleaning and polishing his gunblade. Now that he was a SeeD, he had to do that every now and then. There were expected to be lots of battles coming his way. Leonhart would push himself to always be prepared.

Quezacotl managed to keep to himself from Squall about the necklace. He knew Marianne admired it, and that she wasn't going to tell him that anytime soon. The thunderbird mentally predicted that she would ask Leonhart about it in the future.

When Squall was fully dressed, he stepped out of the bathroom, pulling out a small black comb that he always carried around in one of the outside pockets of his leather coat. He shot a glance at Marianne, thinking over what Quezacotl said as he ran the comb through his strands of his light brown hair. _This girl's unpredictable,_ he thought.

Marianne had caught the glance, and it seemed blank, but through his eyes, Marianne sensed nothing friendly. Through his eyes, she could read what his expression was exactly saying to her: _I'll be watching you. _This made her feel very tense and uneasy. Since she found out that Squall was a real human being, she figured she had to try and get past what she had known from before, but couldn't push away the facts she knew about and kept to herself. This morning wasn't the time to make Squall listen to Marianne, and she sure as hell wasn't in the mood to be talking with anyone.

Selphie had finished up brushing Marianne's hair, and handed Quistis's hairbrush to her. Marianne calmly focused on taking her hair clumps out of it to drop in the waste basket that remained beside her bed. Trepe had been busy in looking over some of Marianne's CD cases, to which she didn't mind at all. "Quistis, your brush," Marianne called to her as the teen with long golden blond hair looked up from what she was doing. "Thank you," she told her as Marianne gave the brush back. As she was putting it back in her purse, she felt like going to her on friendly terms.

Diablos had told her that it was for the best, and she had also asked the Guardian of Gravity about the same thing Squall had discussed with Quezacotl in the bathroom. About Headmaster Cid. _"Marianne's unpredictable at times,"_ he had told her, and also the same things that Quezacotl had told Leonhart.

Seifer had moved to sit beside Marianne, and knew better not to say anything. By the look on her face, he suspected she was in a lot of head pain. "Does your head still hurt as much from last night?" Trepe asked her. Marianne slowly nodded in response, and had one hand over her left temple. "We'll make sure you get that checked out by the doctor, at B-" "Balamb Garden?" Marianne managed to say at that instant. Everyone else in the room but Selphie, still cleansing herself, looked to her in surprise. "Yeah, I know about Dr. K. I know quite a bit," she uttered through the endless throbbing in her head. "…I know quite a bit about this reality…"

With that, Almasy helped her to get up. She placed the light CD case down on the bed. _Damn, I should have known,_ he thought to himself, remembering what Marianne had struggles in explaining to them the previous night. "Let's get ya some breakfast," he said, caring that she should at least eat _something_ before leaving to where he and the others, but Irvine, pretty much called home.

In mentioning of Irvine, he stepped up to the door to let Selphie know himself and the others were going to have breakfast. "Okay Irvy, I'll be down there in a couple minutes!" Selphie said in what seemed to be in a cheery manner.

Squall watched Marianne, Quistis, and Seifer from behind in walking to the stairway by their room. It would lead downstairs to the lobby. He didn't sense any danger from Marianne, but he was really suspicious in how much she knew about them. About all of Gala. He had questions, and when the time came, he would find out the answers soon enough. He understood her situation, and knew how much of a problem she has, and learned that he had to keep an eye on Marianne. Had to make sure she wouldn't do anything that could be dangerous.

Just then, he felt a hand pat on his shoulder. He gave Irvine a glaring look. "Whoa, relax man," the friendly ladies man said with a smile. "Woke up on the side of the bed this morning?" Squall's look turned blank as he moved a few paces ahead of Kinneas, not wanting to deal with him right now. _No, more like not getting much sleep at all, _he answered the Galbadian, privately to himself…


	8. Stress has Taken its Toll

****

Uh oh, Squall's getting a little edgy around Marianne. How will this affect her? Well, read on to find out!

Lyrics used: Most of them are from "GOD" by Smashing Pumpkins. The rest are snippets from "The Reason" by Hoobastank and "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence, in which I'll be using again later.

Chapter 8: Stress has Taken its Toll  
  
**God knows I'm helpless to speak on my own behalf  
God is as helpless as me, caught in the negatives…**  
  
From up above, God sighed. _"This is just getting worse and worse…"_ Hyne began to shed a tear, causing it to slightly drizzle on the world, Gala. _"This angers me,"_ God added, angry of Edea indeed. What the sorceress was doing was deliberately unholy. Evil. He knew the reasons why Satan's children were like this. They took pleasure out of seeing others suffer. And Marianne was suffering very much. His poor child. She was helpless to do anything, but hold onto herself… Her own sanity. Rinoa felt just as worried, knowing how much of a good person Marianne is.  
  
**We all just do as we please, false transmissions  
I hope God forgives me for my transgressions…**

__

Ultimecia will suffer greatly in return. I shall see to it. Hyne promised herself, also angry of what was happening to this innocent young woman. She felt like she had to do something, but what? She couldn't just interfere! What would her guardian children say?! She depended upon her other children to protect and comfort her through the madness. And thus she wept for her, causing the light rain to continue…  
  
The group noticed the rain from out of the lobby window, as they proceeded to the lounge. The bar in the Deling hotel was only open from noon to eleven thirty at night. Breakfast was always to be served in the lounge. Rules were rules.

Marianne felt as if she were dragging herself downstairs, her head still aching and feeling heavy almost to that of an anvil. Seifer placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he lead her to the lounge.

She felt like crying some more, but her eyes felt too dry. So dry that they slightly burned in irritation. She needed another ice bag to soothe the pain in her head again. Looking to Quistis, Marianne forced the question out of her mouth. "Could I…get another ice bag?" "When we get there, I'll get you one," Trepe gently replied and lightly patted her shoulder.

When they arrived at the lounge, the group lined up at the buffet table by the door. Marianne just grabbed a banana, and as Squall had observed her. "I'm not real hungry." she said to him, as their eyes locked again. Marianne didn't keep the eye contact for long, because just looking at him reminded herself of Rinoa. In meeting her through last night's dream...and of her death. She blinked out the mental images that tried to appear, or at least tried to.  
  
The others helped each other out in filling their plates with eggs, bacon, cereal, pancakes, and toast. They cooperated in silence, every now and then muttering small comments of thanks to one another. The air around them seemed gloomy, as if Marianne's own sorrow had caused a dark cloud to hang over their heads, blocking out the sunrays of happiness.

Seifer remained walking beside her as they picked their table. One of the center round tables with chairs. Before the two managed to sit down, two others greeted them. One was dark tan skinned and muscular. He smiled a dopey grin. The other was slender and short. Her hair was platinum colored. An eye patch over her right eye. The other one exposed was red, that seemed to want to burn a hole into everyone all the time. Marianne instantly recognized them as none other than Fujin and Rajin. "Seifer. Welcome." Fujin said, her words coming out direct and to the point. She spoke of little words, but was otherwise normal, for a tomboy. "Hey man, we've been looking for you, ya know?!" Rajin cheered, goofy grin plastered on his face. He was relieved to see the leader of Balamb's Discipline Committee was alive and well. Seifer did a small wave, and sat at the table with Squall, Marianne and the others next to Fujin and Rajin's table. He had pushed his posse to the side, for once not considering himself as priority number one.  
  
**I've found a reason for me, to change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new, and the reason is you…**

He noticed that he was a changed person now. Damn, all in one night too. Seifer Almasy had drastically changed. He wasn't much of a troublemaker anymore. All because of one person. One girl, in times of need. Seifer didn't care. He wanted to help this girl. He saw the panic from within her, and could not just push that to the side, like he used to do with others when they were in need. No, this situation was different. For Hyne's sake, she's from another world, and a bitchy sorceress had once took over his mind! Was he going to let Edea get away with it? Hell no. This would be his own way to get back at Edea.  
  
"Hey Squall, everyone." Rajin greeted, oblivious to Seifer's mood. Fujin seemed to be the only one out of the two to notice. "Seifer. Sad." she said, noticing it through Almasy's eyes. She was concerned. This wasn't like him. He'd normally be in a good mood around them, or a cranky mood. But sad…?

Ignoring them, Seifer focused on Marianne, who slowly unpeeled her banana. She took one last gaze upon Rajin and Fujin, and then focused on eating. It was important that she stayed alive in order to save her own home world. Save her parents. Save her friends. All she ever cared about over there.

Quistis placed her tray down on the table and sat across from Marianne, Irvine, and Seifer. She handed Marianne the ice bag as she immediately placed it on the side of her head. On the other side of the table, she was sitting there with Zell and Squall. Marianne had shortly glanced upon the three. When it was only just a game, she used those three in battles very often. _My favorite party,_ she recalled in her mind, and then just pushed that aside. No, it wasn't right to think like that. She mentally sighed and focused on eating.  
  
Irvine was holding his rifle in one hand, and used the other to eat. Zell was busy stuffing his face. No matter what the situation was, Dincht was a fast eater. On occasion, he's been known to talk with his mouth full, or choke.

****

How can you see into my eyes, like open doors?

Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb…  
  
Squall, in eating his breakfast had took a glance at her every now and then. Marianne ate pretty slowly, as in trying to soothe herself by using her sense of taste. Holding the ice bag to her sore head with one hand, and eating with the other, almost nothing was working for her. It was like her own taste buds were failing away and were to affected by last night's horrors. The cold slightly made the pain shrink a little less.

She wasn't looking at Leonhart, but she could just…_feel_ him watching her. Ever since she walked out of the hotel room, there were some uneasy feelings squirming in her veins. There was stress of being far from home. Worry of those she loved. Squall sitting across from her and observing her like a bird of prey wasn't helping at all. The two could see through each other like looking through glass.

One of her hands trembled as Seifer had noticed. He also noticed what Squall was doing. Quezacotl couldn't stand to take this much longer. _"Squall, stop intimidating her," _the Thunder Guardian Force said in disapproval. Almasy was sitting to her right. He could see why her hand on the table was trembling. In the next instant after Quezacotl was telling Squall to leave Marianne be, Almasy lifted his hand up into a fist and quickly banged it down on the table's smooth surface. The loud noise caused Marianne to jerk in surprise. This was unexpected of Seifer. Was he standing up for her? "What the hell are you lookin' at?!" Almasy growled to Leonhart, who said nothing and just kept on eating. "Seifer…" Quistis warned him. The tension in her voice had told Seifer that if he were to act up again, he would be in serious trouble. "Yeah, don't talk back to our leader like that, you-" Zell tried to insult, but Trepe used the same tone of voice with Seifer to call Dincht by name.

See, Seifer knew what it felt like to be an outsider. An outcast from everyone else. He was sure that Marianne felt like she could trust him, and that was good. He wanted to form an alliance with her, mainly as his benefit as vengeance against Sorceress Edea. The problem was on how to get back to Marianne's world. _Shit, how the hell are we gonna do that?_

Rajin and Fujin at the table next to them noticed the new person. "Hey yo, Seifer! Who's that girl sittin' next to ya?" Rajin spoke out, not helping wonder what was going on. "I've never seen her before man." Seifer turned to him with a dirty look. _Oh God, not now,_ Marianne moaned within herself as Bahamut felt likewise. "Rajin, shut up." Almasy answered him flatly. He just couldn't be bothered by naïve Rajin this morning. Maybe he would tell some of Marianne's story later, but not all of it to his posse. Fujin punched the dark tanned one hard in the shoulder. She felt like Rajin needed to be told twice, as always. "Ow!" Rajin reacted. "SHUT UP." the tomboy repeated in a much louder, and aggressive voice. In Seifer's trio, Fujin had been titled as second in command. She was much smarter than Rajin, so Almasy appointed her the job in the Disciplinary Committee of Balamb Garden without any hesitation. Rajin's not much for brains, but he's still got a heart of gold.

Zell had finished his four hot dogs (the only ones he could find) as Selphie finally came to join them. She noticed Rajin and Fujin at the table next to them. "Hey Rajin, Fujin! What's up?!" Timlitt said in her casual, perky self. "Hiya Selphie!" greeted Rajin. "HELLO." bellowed Fujin. _God damn, she's loud,_ Marianne agonized to herself as she was just trying to relax. But she was absorbed in herself just after Seifer had yelled at Squall to stop gawking at her. Fujin's yelling snapped her back into reality once again as she was brought out of trying to think of a way to get back to Earth. _Maybe I should let them do the thinking…_

"I'm just wondering, ya know? Who's the brown haired chick over there next to Seifer?" Rajin asked again. "Oh, that's Marianne…we found her abandoned outside in the streets last night." Selphie began. Squall looked to Timlitt. _Careful Selphie…you don't want to tell them too much._ "Iguions had attacked and the gate collapsed upon her when we found her… She has no where else to go, so she's staying with us!" Selphie said, finishing it up by manipulating the truth. Marianne silently sighed in relief of this. There were a lot of people here getting their breakfast, and if someone overheard…it would result in chaos. She didn't know what was going to happen exactly, but knew it would be stressful and chaotic.  
  
**It's all too much… God knows I'm helpless…**  
  
Marianne felt sick to her stomach. Everything was messed up. Everything. And nothing ever seemed to slow down enough for her. And still could not fully take in what she had gone through last night. It was so overwhelmingly stressful that she felt something rush up to her throat.

****

God knows I'm helpless!  
  
Selphie had went off to get what she wanted to eat, so she didn't notice the look on Marianne's face as she slowly stood out of her seat. Her skin had slightly paled. Oh God, her headache would just not calm down. Squall and everyone else sitting around her witnessed frightened look on Marianne's features. Leonhart stood up the next few seconds as Almasy quickly got up and pushed his chair back so Marianne could get through. "Rest…room…" The words forced out in urgency from her lips as Seifer quickly got out of the way and said, pointing in the west direction. "All the way over there. What's the matter? Food poisoning?" Marianne didn't answer and walked briskly past the tables to go to the ladies room all the way on the east wall of the lounge…  
  
_"I never expected that to happen…"_ God told Hyne in surprise. _"Well, what do you expect? She's gone through so much pain, physical and emotionally."_ Hyne said in Marianne's support. _"You can't expect to know exactly everything about your creations. Every now and then, it just happens. You get a surprise." _God slowly nodded in agreement. _"This was indeed a bad surprise… I thou smite this devil woman that sent her here!!"_ Thunder broke out from God's angry voice, turning the drizzle on Gala into a light thunderstorm…  
  
**GOD knows I'm HELPLESS!!**  
  
Marianne rushed into the first stall and let whatever she ate spill back out. She just panicked and just felt like she had to get away from those people. Especially Squall who made her all jittery since she first saw him during the Deling City Parade.

At the table in the lounge, Seifer had only guessed that it could have been food poisoning. His eyes had followed Marianne as she headed for the restrooms. _Well, maybe from stress is a possibility…_ Zell had looked clueless. "Whoa, what's she in a hurry for?" he wondered. No one answered him. Selphie had come to the table and asked the same thing. "I don't know," Quistis honestly answered. "She looked sick."

Squall had been surprised the most out of all of them. He was stunned. _Whoa… Marianne really is unpredictable._ He didn't have a clue as to why she suddenly felt sick then. He then looked down at his tray. The plate and glass were empty, so he went up to the wall near the restrooms to the sliding device in there. The tray and everything were to be placed on the moving lines so that it would be dragged away for the lounge staff to wash them.  
  
**GOD KNOWS I'M HELPLESS!!!**  
  
After pressing down on the metal handle to flush the toilet, she slowly moved to the sink area and started washing her hands. She let the cold water fall through her fingers for a few seconds. As she was about to reach the soap, she looked passed the mirror and saw her face changing into something else, slowly. Bahamut had emerged for her to see. Yes, in the bathroom mirror. She took a step back in surprise, wincing of her head pain again. From what she could see, the dragon seemed to jerk his head like that too. Her Guardian Force read the question in her mind and calmly spoke to her.

****

God knows I'm restless and weak, full of piss and vinegar  
God knows we saw what we reap, in the dirt of grandeur…

__

"Yes, I can feel your pain, and you need to settle down," Bahamut advised as his huge head seemed to fill up the entire mirror space of the ladies room.  
  
**When the darkness comes to me and it fix its gaze on me, God knows I'm helpless!**  
  
"I want to go home…" Marianne said to the gentle beast in a wavering voice in approaching the sink in which she was using to wash her hands. "It's just too much for me to take." _"I know you do, but you don't know how to get back. I don't know the way back. Not even Hyne or your own god know the way."_ Bahamut informed her. The girl was rubbing her hands over and over in a cleansing motion, feeling all afraid inside. Bahamut watched her and pointed out, _"The soap mechanism is located to your left…"_ Marianne found it with ease and washed her hands with the pink liquid soap. The dragon king continued talking as she continued rubbing her hands over and over.

__

"If you wish to go back to Earth, you need to trust them. And you know who I'm talking about." The Guardian sighed sadly as his big bluish eyes expressed sympathy for the poor young woman. _"I know it was wrong of Squall to scare you like that, but he'll learn in time. Quezacotl should straighten his act…"_

Marianne had realized that she was rubbing the soap on her hands a little too long and stopped. She moved her hands under the still running cold water to rinse the pink stuff off. "I'm being… all paranoid," Marianne said with a shudder. Lady Macbeth, the name had appeared in her mind. In one scene near the end of her most favorite Shakespeare play, the character was doing the same hand motions, trying to wash away off the blood that wasn't there. Washing off her husband's blood. What Marianne had figured was she must have subconsciously tried to wash away all the blood she had seen from last night's events…

**It's what you want to know no consequences.  
It's what you need to fucking BLEED!!!  
It's all too much…  
God knows I'm helpless.  
God knows I'm helpless!  
GOD knows I'm HELPLESS!!  
GOD KNOWS I'M HELPLESS!!!**  
  
Squall had been standing there near the restrooms hearing her voice. He didn't think it would have been a communication with her own Guardian Force, but he assumed that Marianne had been talking to herself for a bit. The door was open, so he walked over to where he was seeing her dry her hands off with a couple paper towels.

To her, Leonhart's appearance was sudden, and it startled her. "…Are you alright?" Squall asked her in a bit of concern. He asked with a blank expression, a blank voice. For a moment, she didn't answer, and had paid attention to the sound of his voice. She was too frightened to give much notice from before. She felt like she heard the voice before… _Some dude with Jackie Chan in the movie, Shanghai Noon… What was his name? Owen Wilson?_

"Y-yeah," she said rather uneasily as she looked to him and crumpled up the paper towels into a ball. She spotted the trash can in front of her and dropped them in. "I…I just panicked or something, I guess," Marianne attempted as an explanation. Leonhart calmly understood and acknowledged her with a nod. _That's perfectly understandable, _he silently thought to himself. He didn't think for himself that he partly caused her to get sick. But then again, Quezacotl was disapproving of him. Out loud, he asked, "…Ready to go?" Marianne slowly nodded in reply. She couldn't help but tense up inside whenever the guy was around. For someone who's liked Squall as a most favorite game character would react this way in his presence. She held her breath and broke off eye contact as she followed him out of the restroom.  
  
_"Marianne, you have to try and keep yourself together. Squall and the others are all you've got,"_ said the wise Bahamut. _I know. I'm dead without them…_ A part of her felt relieved in a way. Last night's explanation wasn't so bad as she thought it would be. Sure it was really nasty when Seifer snapped at her, but he didn't stay mad for long. She was relieved to get that out of the way, and glad they took her in okay. They had understood her from the bottom of their hearts.

As she followed Squall across the large cafeteria towards the exit, she noticed the rest of the group had left. "Uh, where'd everyone else go?" she found herself asking Leonhart nervously. He just walked on as he answered. "In the lobby. Seifer, Fujin, and Rajin are bringing your stuff downstairs." Well, at least he assumed so. "Oh," she replied and said nothing more at the moment and also thought of another male actor. In combination, Squall sounded like a mix of Owen Wilson and Nicholas Cage. And whenever he acted indifferent in front of everyone else, he'd lower the tone of his voice.

In reaching the lobby area, there they were. Irvine and Zell had stopped talking. They all stopped in what they were doing and looked upon her with pity. Well, Seifer didn't. His expression was rather grumpy looking. Great, just what Marianne needed… Pity. Would she ever feel any better?

"Well, should we take a train back?" Irvine asked the group. _Do I look like I care?_ Seifer thought grumpily, mood matching his expression. _Let's just fuckin' go to Balamb Garden already. _Sure he felt bad about the poor girl getting sick and was rather impatient to make sure she would get the medical treatment she needs. Squall had thought of the situation for a moment, and so did Marianne. "Uh," Marianne began as everyone's attention was upon her. _Oh great,_ she thought sarcastically. Bahamut read over her thinking during the few seconds of hesitation. It was something on the Galbadian soldiers hounding down Edea still. _"I think I get what you're thinking,"_ he responded rather quickly. _"I believe they would be standing around at the trains. So the only other way is by rental car."_

Nodding to Bahamut's suggestion, she revealed the idea to everyone else. "Yeah, um, Bahamut and I were thinkin'… There's still the Galbadians to worry about, and I think they'd be standing around the trains… Possibly to ask about Edea." Squall felt rather impressed of her quick thinking. "Good point," he admitted. "Alright. Let's take a couple rental cars and drive back." "Um, excuse me?" Zell interrupted while stepping in between the two. "Drive all the way back? That's a pretty damn long trip!" "It's better than getting caught," Irvine counter pointed him. "And if we did, we'd be risking her life." Kinneas pointed to Marianne, who looked to the floor in a bit of shame. _Their asses are in danger because of me._ The cowboy then felt guilty in acting in such a way and walked up to her. With a hug, he sympathized, "Aw, don't be that way, Marianne." This comforted her a bit. "We're just concerned about you, that's all," Irvine added. As they released, the Galbadian sharp shooter furthermore asked, "You feelin' alright? You gave us quite a scare." Marianne nodded, "Yeah, I'm alright… I was just a little paranoid, that's all." "A little?" Irvine quirked with a smile. She slowly nodded in response, one hand moving to rest on her sore left temple.

"Well? Let's go to the Deling Station everybody!" Selphie chirped, being unnecessarily perky. She was the first to bounce along out the door. As Marianne, began to walk, Zell moved right beside her. "Hey, you okay? I heard you went to blow chunks," he said to her. "Ugh, very nicely put Zell," Quistis told him dryly as she joined them. "…I'll be alright," Marianne tried to assure them once again. Inside, she didn't know for sure. She wasn't so sure on anything at this point.

Rajin and Seifer lifted Marianne's backpack full of her CDs, carrying it by the straps. Fujin was holding her CD player in her arms and made sure the plug and cord weren't dragging along the floor because Seifer specifically told them to be careful with the luggage. And as always, the posse obeyed. Marianne looked to the three of them in moving towards the hotel's front doors.

Irvine was following them out. He looked to Marianne in noticing she was looking in his direction, and tipped his hat in a kind gesture. Marianne just did a little wave and focused forward past him. Squall was already waiting outside, waiting for everyone to catch up.

The group had pretty much walked in silence. Squall lagged in the back of the group, looking out for everyone. Marianne, Zell and Quistis walking beside her, were within his vision range. His thick, black boots gently clomped upon the street's pavement. He had his gunblade strapped to his back, and his gloved hands, for handling the weapon, were shoved into his front exterior coat pockets. _Perhaps I'm just being too harsh around her,_ he thought to himself as in witnessing how easily it was to cause tension around the poor girl. _"Wise decision Squall. She may not be from around here, but she's only human. She certainly didn't mean to arrive here."_ reminded Quezacotl. _Yeah, I know. Shut up,_ snapped Leonhart, because he did knew. He just hated being treated like goddamned kid. He was definitely smart enough to think for himself. _Still, we don't know how to get Marianne home… No, not right now,_ he told himself. _Worry about that when we get to Garden._

Zell had a friendly arm around Marianne as he tried to make her feel a little more relaxed around the group. Well, what could he say to a person from another world? Ask about her world? Could that work? Well, Dincht gave it a shot. "So, what's it like on your world? I wanna know," he pondered to Marianne, as she irritably looked to him with a blank expression. With a soft moan in aggravation of her sore head, that gave a clear signal to the spiked blonde that she was in no mood to chit chat.

Marianne seemed…slightly relaxed, but not by much. She was grateful for Zell's kindness or else she'd just exhaust herself in stress and tension. She realized that she had left the ice bag in the lounge. _Oh man…_ she inwardly groaned. And the pain was just endlessly throbbing the whole damn time. If only she hadn't been so scared stupid into backing into a rocky avalanche caused by two gigantic freaks of nature. _If only…_

Seifer and Selphie were in leading the way to the Deling gas station. Fujin and Rajin were just behind them. Almasy couldn't be bothered, and looked over his shoulder towards the girl he had rescued last night. Going soft, he noticed how sad and tired she looked. _Also to mention, miserable. That headache must be a real pain._ He turned his head around. Rajin had seen the concerned, empathetic look on his old friend's face. With his super muscular strength, he seemed to be able to carry the book bag that felt like carrying a sack of bricks. He was holding it with both arms.

"Hey Seifer!" Timlitt exclaimed, getting him to look at her. His look was blank. She smiled, trying to get him to smile back. It was an absolute failure as Seifer focused forward, a look with determination. She pouted, but in an adorable way. Through the eyes of the others, she was like everyone's baby sister. Always happy. Always smiling and seeing the good of everything.

Irvine was right in front of Marianne, Zell, and Quistis who walked together. "Y'know, I'm sure you'd be welcome to stay with us as long as ya want," Kinneas said, directing it to Marianne. "Cid's a very understanding man," Quistis agreed. Marianne thought to herself, _I know. But do I have to explain it all again? "You might, unless one of the others volunteer to do so," _Bahamut answered for her, persisting to keep his voice to a medium whisper. Inside of himself, he growled in the annoyance in feeling her head pain. _"I suggest you get some rest during the long trip to Balamb," _Marianne's Guardian advised, and said nothing more. He knew if he went on, it would just bother the mortal's head pain.

The walk to the gas station wasn't a long one, thank Hyne. Quistis was just relieved to not see a Galbadian soldier anywhere in sight as they walked. The streets looked oddly empty. No traffic. No kids playing. Not even the buses appeared to be in service. It was quiet. Too quiet. Perhaps the Galbadians had something to do with this?

Squall had wondered about the G-Army soldiers too while trailing behind. They knew. The entire group knew. _Marianne was right. They must be at the trains,_ Quistis thought as she looked to her with a gentle grin. Marianne had caught that by the corner of her left eye. "See?" she forced to say through the agonizing pain. The long haired blonde nodded and placed a gentle hand on her left shoulder. "You shouldn't fight through the pain," she advised. "Don't try to say anything anymore, okay?" Quistis saw her head slowly nod in agreement.

Seifer was a little low on Gil, but Selphie and the others pitched in to rent a couple cars. No need to worry about fuel. They had bought plenty of it back when traveling up to the Tomb of the Unknown King.

"I could be one of the drivers," Seifer calmly suggested. His facial expression remained blank. "I'll drive the other car," suggested Squall, cooperating. "But, who's gonna ride with who?" Zell wondered. Most of everyone but Rajin and Fujin had decided to go in Squall's car. "I'm ridin' with Seifer." stated Rajin. "AFFIRMATIVE." Fujin agreed in a medium loud voice. "…There's room for one more in Seifer's," Quistis said. She looked among everyone else but Squall. Selphie smiled. "I could go!" she volunteered. Seifer looked at her in an uninviting gaze. _Oh hell no,_ he mentally groaned. Zell looked like he definitely did not want to go with Seifer. His hands that dangled by his sides were shaking fists, prepared to connect with Seifer's smug face. Everyone could see that Dincht and Almasy never get along very well. So Zell wasn't going.

Quistis wanted to sit in the passenger seat with Squall, so she wasn't going. Lastly, she looked to Marianne. Seifer, with a shrug, offered, "I could take Marianne up with me." _Oh whatever, just as long as Fujin and Rajin don't pester me. I'm sure Seifer would prevent that,_ Marianne figured to herself and slowly walked to one of the cars and opened the door to one of the passenger seats. Everyone else knew who would they would be riding with, so they made no hesitation to get into the vehicles.

Both cars were blue on the outside. On the inside were light tan seats that had a polyester like surface. Seifer was in the car out front, so Squall patiently waited a bit for him to form a two second passing worth of space between them, then started the engine. Inside both automobiles for a few minutes, the two groups of people and Guardian Force were silent in unison.


	9. The Long Way Home

****

Alright, I'm finally back with another couple of chapters. Woohoo!

Song lyrics used: "Long Way Home" by The Offspring, off their newest album, Splinter!

Chapter 9: The Long Way Home

****

Hey! I'm driving down a dusty road…

The front passenger seat of the rental car temporarily owned by Seifer was moved back. Bahamut had helped Marianne locate the lever by the side of the seat so she could lean back a little more comfortably and relax. After upon doing so, she turned to Almasy. "Seifer…" He saw her using the corner of his right eye. Of course, his main focus had to be the road. "What is it?" Seifer asked in concern. He also noticed the strain in her voice to speak still. "You shouldn't try to talk anymore, remember?" "Yeah, I know, but…" Marianne had began and used one of her arms to point in the direction of the backseats.

Seifer quickly looked behind him. "Did…you tell them…?" she asked as he looked upon Rajin and Fujin. Rajin was sitting quite comfortably behind Marianne, with the black book bag on the right beside him. He rested an arm around it. "Tell us what? About her being from another world and all?"

This had stirred tension between both Bahamut and Marianne. Ignoring her head pain once again, she regretfully turned her head in a quick reflex. Seifer looked at her and sighed. "Hey, relax. I didn't tell them about…" He mouthed out the word "Squaresoft" to her. "Tell us what? Yo, I don't get what you're saying Seifer, ya know." Rajin complained. "Rajin. Shut up." Almasy snapped, pushing him out of his attention for now. Fujin, as always, hurt Rajin and loudly repeated the command for Seifer. "SHUT UP." Now, this was not good. Seifer knew in order for everyone to have a safe and relaxing trip, that everyone was to cooperate with each other.

"Fujin, could you please not say anything?" Almasy asked the albino politely. He learned pretty quick about how to act around Fujin, and he also knew that Fujin was only trying to help. But she always spoke loudly almost all the time, and Seifer really didn't know why Fujin talked in this way. No one did.

She was slightly more loyal to him than Rajin. And if he were to treat her rudely, she would be the same as she was with Rajin. In obeying Seifer's request, Fujin said nothing more. No questions asked. Whenever Almasy would tell her to do something, she'd just do it. Hell, if she were told to jump off a cliff, Fujin would do with without any hesitations. She had pretty much sacrificed most of her free will to be a part of the posse. She admired Seifer as a close friend, and hated all the other men.

****

Hey! I got nowhere to go. No place that I can call my own…

Marianne was relieved that Seifer dared not to tell his posse all about her, as well as Bahamut. He felt that Seifer could be trusted. They could see the change quite clearly. And what Marianne didn't know was that Rajin had been known to have a big mouth to chat away to anyone in his path. Seifer had known this, and knew how dangerous it would be if the word got to everyone inside the facility of Balamb Garden. Probably not as bad with the Galbadians, but still pretty bad. She'd be treated like an outcast. Just like him. Almasy knew for sure that Marianne didn't want that, or to be attacked upon. She was not to be blamed. _Everyone over there wouldn't know how scared Marianne had been. They probably wouldn't believe me either,_ Seifer thought to himself.

Tears had started to fall Marianne's cheeks. Her eyes seemed to have time to gather moisture, only to dry out again. She wondered how long this trip was going to be, but she figured it didn't really matter. She had time to try and relax, but it almost seemed impossible. The pain had been too aggravating for her ever since the previous night. She'd hope to see Dr. Kowadaki soon.

"God, it hurts…" Marianne said to basically no one. "Yeah, that's gotta suck, ya know?" Rajin said in a form of agreement. "Seifer, how long until we get to Balamb?" Marianne asked the one at the driver's seat, ignoring the guy sitting behind her. Just by seeing the pained look her face from before, the blonde was gathering as much speed as he can. He knew he had to slow down in narrow pathways, or else they'd fall into a ditch or worse. "I'm going as fast as I can, alright?" Seifer assured her. "I know it sucks. So I'm gonna try and get you on up to see the doctor."

Rajin and Fujin weren't surprised. Seifer was known to be a nice guy at times. He just didn't show it around most people. Marianne had just been accepted as one of those few.

As Seifer gained speed at the wheel, he started to have some second thoughts on why he was helping her back home to get rid of Edea. …It seemed like he didn't just want to do it for his benefit only. He actually wanted to go for it, all the way. Almasy had opened himself up around this person, and there was no turning back.

As he heard Marianne softly crying, he placed a comforting hand on her left shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll be there soon, okay?" Almasy reassured her. _Thanks Seifer…you're actually not such a bad guy after all. Just as I thought, you were just misunderstood,_ Marianne observed. _You just need to find the right crowd to hang around with. _From that moment on, Seifer was consider a friend among the others she cared about. _Bahamut, add another friend to the book,_ she mentally joked before another throb of pain had come her way. _"Will do… You just worry about getting rest right now,"_ advised her Guardian…

In the streets of Deling City, there were no civilians, for they were told to stay inside their homes. The soldiers were cleaning up around the collapsed gate. One blue uniformed soldier pushed a wheel barrel around for others to put pieces of debris into it. To protect themselves from the horrible stench, gas masks were worn over their faces. A swarm of insects had gathered to feast upon the Iguion corpses. Today was surely a lucky day for them. In just a matter of hours to a few days, if the insects were left alone to clean up the mess, just the bones would be leftover. The Galbadians weren't trustworthy of the bugs though. Sooner or later after the rubble was picked up, they were to gather in large numbers in order to pick up the dead monsters, and probably dump them in the nearest body of water.

"Damn, couldn't this have happened during something better?!" hollered another blue uniformed soldier, but he was of a high rank, unless his partner, another Elite G-Army soldier, would say otherwise. "You just shut your mouth Biggs. This is no time for sarcasm," scowled the red uniformed guy. Since Edea had left the world of Gala behind on the previous night, everyone was clueless as to who to turn to for a temporary leader until the sorceress was found. But she didn't want to be found, did she? The country of Galbadia just didn't know of it yet.

So the rest of the Galbadians were clueless on who to turn to. Wedge and Biggs had gladly volunteered to lead them in finding their actual leader. They obviously hadn't known of her plans for domination of the world that actually created theirs. Nothing of the matter was revealed to them.

Biggs crossed his arms over his chest in observing his comrades clean up. Wedge had awoken early in the morning, way before Marianne was awoken from her nightmare back at the hotel. He set up a team of lower rank soldiers to do a search on anyone who was to leave this city by train. Actually, they had caused all train rides to be canceled. No one was to leave Deling City until the G-Army had some answers about their missing leader. Indeed, Marianne and Bahamut altogether were right, causing the group to be one step ahead of them.

Wedge and Biggs weren't notified of the group of young people who left the city by rental car. Barely anyone used rental cars, since the train rides seemed just as affordable. On the previous night, the patrolman reported to Wedge about a certain group of teenagers, who didn't know that they had recently left. The current head of the entire Galbadian Army had ordered the patrolman to gather a team and find them. It would only be a matter of time until they realized that the group was no longer there.

Soon Marianne and the others will be seen as suspects of Edea's disappearance. Wedge had a big hunch that they knew something they didn't and were keeping it in secret. These youths were to be found. Alive…

****

On and on this road is burning…

From the back seat, next to the left window, Dincht had asked Quistis to check up on the car in front of them. The one which Seifer was driving. As Trepe looked ahead through the windshield, she couldn't see anything wrong. There was Almasy's hand on Marianne's shoulder, but he wasn't causing her any trouble.

"Is she okay?" Zell wondered. "She's fine," muttered Squall, in the driver's seat. And she was. It bothered him that this girl was all they were talking about right now. "…We'll need to get her some more clothes and things if she's to stay with us a little longer," said Selphie. "Yes, I know, and we can do that when we get to Balamb," agreed Quistis, who turned to head to look at Timlitt sitting in the backseat, by the right window.

With a smile, Selphie showed Trepe that she was fine. Deep down inside, she wasn't. Ever since she's been in Trabia Garden, Timlitt had been counted on to not let anything get to her and to give everyone . But now, she was getting scared. No one had a clue as to how to get her back. She counted on the Headmaster, Cid Kramer, to figure out something once they arrived at Balamb Garden.

Dincht had faith Dr. Kowadaki of Balamb Garden, since he has gotten hurt a lot in the past times of his martial arts training. By now, he's pretty much perfected it. At the age of ten, his grandfather had started to teach him. Until he passed away… From then on, Zell had to teach himself and practice agilities. In the long run up to now, they've appeared to come in handy. Squall, in choosing two people to come with him, had picked Zell often.

Now, Gardens, as Final Fantasy 8 fans who thought their world was just entertainment, know that they are military type schools for young people from the age of five up to eighteen. They were raised and taught to fight with weapons and cast and draw magic from their enemies. SeeD. That was the name of the special forces at Garden. In training, by the time the students reach sixteen, they are ready to be examined to graduate and live their lives as soldiers and mercenaries.

Squall in the driver's seat, like Selphie, also hoped that Mr. Kramer would know what to do. He learned his lesson back at Deling's hotel to ease up on Marianne, but that didn't mean he shouldn't have to worry about keeping an eye on her. _If she dares to attack Cid…_ Quezacotl felt Leonhart's worries, and had the assuring words to calm him down some. _"The chances of Marianne physically hurting him are slim. Squall, she is not a fighter. She never was."_

****

Break away! I'm leaving all this crap behind…

__

Never was…? he pondered. _"Yes,"_ answered his Guardian and continued. _"Her life has been pretty peaceful up until last night. …And she doesn't see herself as a military type. That may change." _ At the wheel, Leonhart thought about it. _Earth must be very different. "Yes, but not as you think it may be. When Marianne feels better, why don't you ask her and find out?" _offered Quezacotl.

The bird was getting under his skin, and he didn't like it. Since when had it become Quezacotl's duty to offer him suggestions? He was so used to him being quiet a lot of the time. Squall knew that his Guardian knew a lot about Marianne, but was told to ask _her_. Why? Quezacotl didn't bother to answer. In his job of being a Guardian Force, he had been told centuries ago to never interfere much in humans' free will, but to guide them. And that was what the thunderbird was doing with Squall. He wanted him and Marianne together, but he couldn't allow himself to say too much. A bond of trust between those two were very important for both Earth and Gala altogether. As a matter of fact, a bond with the others and Marianne were very important too. Thank Hyne that these people were good, and were never the type to abandon those who were in need of help.

****

Break away! The past is gone

The future's blind…

After a long period of dead silence, Zell had spoken up again. He was pretty sure at some time or another, the rest of the group must have wondered what her world might be like. "Yo, you think her world is much more advanced than ours?" "It has to be," Quistis replied tiredly. "A company in her world was able to create us." From lack of sleep, exhaustion was pretty much giving to everyone. Squall was the most exhausted at first, but he had managed to have at least one full mug of coffee before leaving Deling City. _Don't forget about the CDs, _he groaned to himself.It would only be a few more hours until he would start to feel drowsy.

Irvine wasn't saying much. He just fell asleep in where he sat. He never took a rental car trip back to Balamb, but Zell had mentioned from before that this was going to be a long time of travel. So Kinneas made a choice and slept it off, oblivious to hearing one of the others voices but Squall every now and then.

****

Don't care how long it takes this time!

On and on I'll take the long way home…

The long way home…

The long way home…

If it's for me it's on the way home!

Selphie, in sitting all the way to the right in the backseat, was looking over the scenery for a bit, and then dully focused her eyes elsewhere. The fear she's had earlier had worn off…for now. She was worried about Marianne, being separated from her family and brought here against her will. She was a little scared over the facts she was told before getting to bed. Right now, she was just a tired. Joining Kinneas, and then Trepe, who yawned and started to nod off, Timlitt also drifted off to sleep.

****

My hands are glued upon the wheel

The road ahead is all I feel…

The only thing left that's real…

Leonhart was the only one awake, and grateful that no one was bugging him to share his thoughts. Such people would be Zell, Selphie, and Quistis. Even Rinoa while she was still alive. _Rinoa…it's a shame she died,_ Squall caught himself thinking. He was letting his feelings get to him again, so he did the usual and shoved them away. He felt irritated whenever his emotions came along. It was like they were buried below the organs inside of his body, screaming and struggling to just reach his head. And every now and then they would succeed, only to be buried once again. _Rinoa's gone, and there's nothing that anyone can do about it. Not even Marianne._

He thought about the girl from another world again. The Timber Forest Owl member's death and her arrival linked together. He figured since she must have known Heartilly as a game character, and felt really bad about it in finding out she was as real as him. As real as Marianne herself. _…I don't know… I don't really know what is real anymore, now knowing I was made up by someone else._ He shook his head and sighed while focusing on the landscaping ahead of him. He hated this indeed. Who wouldn't, in finding out your life was mostly run by a group of virtual reality designers? But of course, Marianne had told him and the others that she didn't know everything in Gala was real. Maybe she felt the same way he did. _Cid will know what to do, I'm sure of it. Because I sure as hell don't…_

****

On and on I'll take this long way home…

The long way home…

The long way home…

Two hours had passed slowly. Marianne in the passenger seat of Seifer's car had finally nodded off to sleep, just as Bahamut wanted her to do. All was quiet. Rajin earlier was looking through Marianne's backpack in curiosity. She was still awake then, and Seifer had yelled at him not to. The owner of the book bag said it was okay if he did, but had to be careful with the CDs. Music was a major part in Marianne's life. This was the only connection she had with Earth for right now. Possibly sometime in a day or so to come, she would listen to a CD or more for comfort. More than likely her new found allies would get into them too. While awake, she thought of who might be into the music. Selphie, Zell, Seifer, Rajin… Squall maybe? And a number of students at Balamb Garden.

Almasy took a few short glances at her while driving, noticing Marianne resting. She was awake while crossing the railroad, so she couldn't be bothered anymore. It was still a long journey ahead, so Seifer checked the fuel gage. It was running low on gas. The air conditioning wasn't used that much either, and the windows were rolled down.

So for the first time, Seifer pulled over and let Squall drive ahead of him, who noticed him slowing down. Almasy gave him a wave to assure him that it was okay. Rajin handed him a container filled with fuel, so Seifer would supply the vehicle straight away. No one was stalling. The girl had very severe head pains, so it's possible that her skull could be fractured a little bit. No time was to be wasted, and Almasy made sure of that.

Squall in driving the other car was not very far ahead of them once Seifer started the car to keep on going. Every monster in their path was wise enough to get out of the way, or be road kill. For three more hours, Squall and Seifer drove the others to Balamb. Marianne was still asleep to notice the Garden building that was beyond seeing it on a television screen. It looked like a huge white seashell, with some other colors decorating it. Windows were shown on the left side of it, for the dormitories, for they were separated. One set of dorms for the boys, the other for the girls.

The cars were going around the back and into the parking lot area. A mostly dark area, but there were yellow side lights on the walls above the ground to illuminate it whenever anyone had to go in there.

A few faculty members would soon drive the cars back to Deling City and take a train back to Balamb. They would never have to eat or sleep along the way either. For the faculty crew were robots. Designed by the Shumi people, the Gardenmaster didn't trust humans to do his dirty work. His people never did. And they were easy to control. They didn't have emotions, or morals. The robots were only to do what their master says, even if it were a means of their destruction.

"Hey Marianne. We're here," Rajin called from behind. Marianne didn't wake up. "She must be really tired, ya know?" he added. Seifer told him, "You and Fujin go on ahead. Raj, take her backpack." And then he gave orders to the albino sitting next to Rajin. "Fujin, take the CD player." "Affirmative." Fujin managed to say quietly, for Marianne's sake. "Yo, what about Marianne?" Rajin asked of Almasy, who just muttered, "Don't worry, I got her."

Even through their talking, she was still asleep. Rajin was right. She was exhausted and sleep had completely taken her in for a while. Seifer got out of the car through the driver's side and crossed around and over to the other side from the front of the car. Then he opened the passenger door to unbuckle Marianne's seatbelt. _She must be bushed,_ Seifer thought. He looked to the others. They were standing nearby the exit, waiting for him. Squall, Quistis, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie.

With a bit of effort, Seifer lifted the sleeping young woman in his arms and began to join the others in going to the infirmary, using one of his feet to close the car door. Concerned and worried looks appeared on the faces ahead of his vision. Zell looked rather pissed. "What happened?" he asked Almasy in a dangerously flat tone. "She fell asleep. That's what happened," Seifer snapped at him. "I didn't do shit to her, okay?" For once in his life, Almasy was just trying to do a little good for everyone, and he was being jerked around for it?! Zell didn't say anything else in reply, and looked rather alarmed of Seifer's rude remark.

"I believe you Seifer," Quistis told him gently. That caused him to slightly calm down. _At least Miss Mediocre Instructor believes me,_ Seifer thought to himself as he was doing his best to carry her. It was a bit of a problem, because Marianne was slightly heavier than his Hyperion gunblade. He couldn't hold her in his arms forever.

Together, they walked along the lobby area to the left. The infirmary was located all the way on the left. The structure of Balamb Garden was round, and whoever strolled in the large lobby area had to follow the circular path that was built. There were railways to prevent anyone from falling over into the water below. For this place, it was pretty serene. It was early in the afternoon, so the young students would still be in their classrooms, learning about magic, world history, Guardian Forces, and other things. The youngest members, ages five to six, had to go to the daycare area. This was all unknown to Marianne, who remained unconscious in Seifer's arms.

For a moment, Squall wondered where the Headmaster was, but thought it to be obvious. _He's probably in his office…_

In approaching the Infirmary, Dr. Kowadaki was where she would usually be. At her desk. Wearing the white coat, the doctor was always working as the head medic. Her long and wavy dark brown hair was tied back in a bun. She was filing away papers in a file cabinet when she heard the group come in. In turning around, seeing Seifer holding a young girl in his arms had gotten the doctor's full attention. Her face was a light tan. Her lips were red as rose petals. Pale blue eyes and wrinkle free skin had shown off the rest of her beauty. "Dr. Kowadaki," began Quistis. The others had pretty much spread out within the medic center. Squall just leaned up against the entrance and exit, observing from there. Zell and Selphie were on the opposite sides of the hospital bed by the window. Quistis was standing in front of the female doctor as Seifer slowly walked over and laid Marianne down upon the bed.

"We found this girl in Deling City. There was an attack by two monsters. Iguions. I don't know how they got in but they were terrorizing the city and made the gate collapse on top of her." Trepe explained. Dr. Kowadaki's face had paled in fright in hearing this. "Oh my…" She quickly walked to the bed. "She's currently asleep right now. We need you to examine her head for any fractures. A boulder slammed into the side of her head Doc! Wham!" Zell said, with a bit of unnecessary enthusiasm, slamming one gloved fist into the palm of the other. "Yeah, ya gotta help her, ya know?" Rajin said in agreement as he placed the heavy book bag beside the bed Marianne had laid upon. Fujin set down the CD player on the table to the right. "Oh my goodness! She could be in concussion!" said the alarmed doctor. Kowadaki quickly turned to Seifer. "You can still carry her, right?" Almasy nodded slowly, offering to cooperate. "Good, I need you to carry her and follow me to the X-ray."

The others were forced out of the infirmary. There was currently nothing for them to be occupied with, so they just waited in the lobby, just outside the medic center. "Damn, I hope she isn't in concussion," Dincht uttered in concern. "How long was she asleep for?" Irvine wondered. Squall was looking down at the polished floor as he slowly turned his head up in answering Kinneas's question. "Perhaps maybe a few hours. Only Seifer knows for sure." "Fuck. He let her fall asleep," Zell said in the obvious, steaming mad. Quistis sighed sadly and placed one of her hands gently upon one of Dincht's shoulders to calm him. "I think she'll be okay," Selphie said. "She woke up this morning, and her headache was just as bad." "She's right," Quistis agreed. "So, she's not in concussion." "She's just sleepy," Timlitt added flashing everyone one of her cute smiles.

Zell seated himself from where he stood. Irvine stood next to him, rifle held relaxingly to his side in one hand. Squall looked to the others. "I'm going to report to Cid," he dully announced, and began to walk away, heading the way they had come. "Okay Squall. We'll be here," Quistis replied kindly.

Leonhart didn't say anything or return a gesture. He just kept walking. He'd been wanting to go to Cid for a while, and now was his chance. He surely wasn't going to miss this opportunity.


	10. Hidden Secrets

****

First off, I should have done this in the beginning but I forgot. I half dedicate this entire dark fic to Caleb Nova. His novelized FF8 fic is pretty dark stuff too. "On Earth as it is in Hell" I highly recommend it. It's just a really awesome train wreck of a fanfiction, and he half inspired me to start going into more of my dark side in writing. The other half is just a challenge I've set for myself.

And I dedicate this chapter to Prodigy, because he gave me a little inspiration as I read a certain part of his kickass FF8 game novel, "The Ultimecia Affair." I also highly recommend this story. Prodigy: You keep it up my friend. It's really amazing. I'll keep reading on and reviewing!

On with the story, since that important stuff's out of the way. Lyrics used: "Pieces" by Hoobastank, off their self titled album. Hoobastank produces some addicting songs for me. Lol, props to them!

Chapter 10: Hidden Secrets

****

I like a rock, sink! Sinking 'til I hit the bottom

The water is much deeper than I thought…

"Just place her on the table there," Kowadaki told Seifer. The sound of her voice was a mixture of ease and urgency all in one setting. Seifer did as he was told, because he knew Kowadaki was a good doctor. She's helped him before in the past as well. Say, last week when he was "training" with Squall. Besides Rajin, Fujin, and Marianne, she was the only other person in which Seifer had been at ease around. Pretty much to everyone else, he acted immaturely.

Dr. Kowadaki knew Seifer for years, ever since he came to Balamb Garden at the age of thirteen or fourteen. Today, Almasy didn't appear to be himself. He'd usually be smug, and dare devil like around her. But she was never given any disrespect. The relationship is almost to that of a mother towards a son.

"Seifer, what exactly happened? Do you know her name?" she wanted to know, while she was plugging in and setting up the X-ray equipment. Seifer gave a simple shrug. He knew he wasn't supposed to reveal everything. "Well, it was basically like Zell said. A boulder slammed into her head…" As a matter of fact, he couldn't come up with the courage to explain the details of him being under the control of a sorceress. "Her name is Marianne. She doesn't have anywhere else to go, so we brought her here," Almasy added, manipulating the truth. It was true that Marianne had nowhere to go at the moment, and of course he got the name right.

He watched as Kowadaki was at the controls. "Well, I'm glad you did bring her here than just leave her there at Deling City. It's getting to be quite hostile over there." _No kidding,_ thought Almasy in dry sarcasm. After a few more button pushing, the X-ray began to scan Marianne's head as she remained asleep. Seifer stood silently and watched the machine flash a light up and down her head. When the scan was done, Kowadaki took the slip out and taped it on the lit up tag board behind her. "It'll take a few seconds for the scan to develop…" the doctor informed him. She examined his face. Seifer appeared to look sad in his eyes. And he was, for Marianne. "What's wrong Seifer?" The tall blonde just closed his eyes for a brief moment, and then opened them. "Nothing…" Seifer slowly replied and turned to the X-ray scan, which was complete.

Seifer pointed to the area in which he had seen the nasty purple bruise on Marianne's head. There were small and crooked fault lines. "A slight fracture," confirmed Kowadaki as she slowly turned to look upon Marianne's motionless form. "She was lucky…" "Yeah, very lucky," Seifer said, a little surprised of the results.

Slowly, the sleeping one was gaining consciousness now. It was a nice few hour nap, and the pain was just slightly bothering her by a little. It first touched her like a small bee sting, and it kept increasing from there. The other two heard her moan. "Hey," Seifer called to her from where he stood. "Are you awake?" She faintly heard Almasy's voice. "…Seifer?" she replied, and tried opening her eyes. _Ah damn, it's bright here…_

****

Nothing to swim with

Kicking, but I keep sinking!

A lesson that no one could have ever taught…

He walked to be beside her on the bed. Marianne realized in opening her eyes that she wasn't in the rental car anymore. She could see the ceiling lights in the background behind Seifer's head. The guardian angel, practically glowing in her mind as her vision focused. "…Huh? Are we there?" Marianne asked him in a tired voice. In seeing Dr. Kowadaki appearing on the other side of where she was, her concerns were answered. _So this is Dr. K…_

"Marianne, how are you feeling? How's your head?" asked Kowadaki in friendly terms. There came a moan from her patient in response. "…Still hurts like hell. The lights aren't helping at all." Marianne uttered, feeling rather unpleasant. "Some ice would be good to soothe the pain some…" Kowadaki smiled warmly. "Sure." She turned to Seifer once again upon request. "Lead her back to the bed. I'll go set up an ice bag." Almasy nodded, in a placid mood. She felt it to be rather strange, Seifer in such a calm, silent mood. "Are you sure you're alright? Is there anything I could do…?" Seifer assured her, "I'm fine." Kowadaki nodded in acknowledgement and went to the back of the medic center.

Marianne was being helped to slowly sit up. The pain was all the same as before as she continued to softly moan in aggravation. "So, what did I miss?" she wondered dully as Seifer filled her in with the details. "Well," he began. "Kowadaki just X-rayed your head and there's a small fracture in where your bruise is. It's nothing too bad, but I got a feeling you'll be in here for a while." He wrapped a gentle arm around her and coaxed her to the bed in which he set her upon from before.

She looked to him, thoughts kicking in. _Someone must have carried me here…_ "Seifer? Uh…who brought me here?" Marianne wondered out of her own habits of curiosity. "I did," Almasy told her in a calm tone of voice. "Oh," she said, a bit surprised to know. "Okay, I was just wonderin'." "I know," Seifer said as he helped her lay down. In observation, she was still in a lot of pain.

Shortly, Dr. Kowadaki had come back with a blue ice bag and gave it to her. "Thanks," Marianne said kindly and applied it to the sore spot on her left temple. "You must have been terrified," Kowadaki said. "I've been notified on how you got the fracture." "Oh…you have no idea," was the reply from the younger woman, and looked back to Seifer. With her right hand, she reached out for his hand. Seifer took the offer and gently squeezed. "…Seifer…" He was once again all ears to whatever Marianne had to say. "Yeah?" "Where is everyone else?" A small smile formed on Seifer's lips as he gave a reply. "They're in the lobby." "Perhaps you should tell them, and let her rest a while." Kowadaki calmly suggested. Seifer nodded and released Marianne's hand. "Thanks, for taking me in," were her last words to him. "Sure…" Seifer responded. "I'll see you later, alright?" He looked upon her. Her left hand was holding the ice bag to her head, while the other dangled limply from the other side of the bed. "See ya," Marianne said in a breathy voice as he patted her shoulder.

As she watched him leave, her eyes shifted to Kowadaki again. She seemed to be a nice doctor to her. Probably pretty good too, since there were probably so many young ones with the Garden that would injure themselves from training or accidents. "…Don't think I can go back to another nap, so I'll just lie here," Marianne softly told her. The doctor nodded. "Alright. You just relax and don't say anything." "Okay…" came the breathy response.

She was trying to relax, but she was still afraid deep down inside. Still afraid about last night and what had happened this morning. She felt insecure and suddenly wished that Seifer hadn't left her side. Even the smell of rubbing alcohol was getting to her. From that time in saving her life up until now, she had formed a trust with him. "Y'know, that's the guy that saved my life last night," Marianne told Kowadaki, who just smiled in return. "Could he come back, after he's finished telling everyone?" She nodded. "Of course dear, but you're much too weak right now for chit chat." Kowadaki moved her hand gently across Marianne's cheek in motherly comfort. "You just need to not say anything and relax for a bit."

****

'Cause I can almost breathe the air, right beyond my fingertips

I'll turn around and pick up the pieces…

As Kowadaki had informed her that she had paperwork to do, as usual, Marianne was left alone to her thoughts. She didn't like being alone like this, but knew she wasn't completely alone, because Bahamut was still there inside her head.

__

One thing: I hope things will slow down some, she directed her thoughts to the dragon king. _"Yes, everything else just sped past by you, didn't it?" _The flashbacks of the previous night had shown him on why Marianne was acting this way. And he felt quite an amount of insecurity. _"In words of comfort, I'll just say that I'm sure things are starting to settle down." _ Marianne slowly nodded her head. As long as she was basically by herself, Marianne didn't have to worry. Bahamut was there. _Thanks Bahamut. I'm glad you're my GF. "I'm glad to have met you,"_ Bahamut said. _"You hold a good spirit." _ A small smile formed on Marianne's lips and stifled back some giggling. _How flattering._ She could feel him express some happiness in return.

She exhaled a slightly relaxed sigh. She felt a little better in knowing the fact that Bahamut would keep her company for a time. Besides, Seifer would come back in a few short minutes, right…?

****

Just one more push and I'll be there, back where I belong…

I'll turn around and pick up the pieces…

One of the robotic faculty members was by the entrance to the elevator. "Back so soon, Leonhart?" it said in its mechanical voice. Squall had always thought of this to be strange, but respected Headmaster Cid's intentions about having robots serve as administrators. Actually, they were built by NORG, but ever since Squall was first transported from the old orphanage in Centra to Balamb Garden, he wasn't notified about the Garden Master. Ever. Leonhart only Cid was behind everything in keeping the school/home running.

And he never seemed to fail in noticing how strange these machines were. They were shrouded in white robes, with round tan hats. The face could never be seen under it, just the sinister looking glow of the red light up eyes. The arms and legs were slim and thin as sticks, but surely were built to be very strong, or otherwise they would be useless to Cid. The metallic fingers looked bony, the five of them on one hand were pointed straight up, palm facing Squall. A signal to stop in where ever he was going.

"Yes, the mission had failed," Squall told the robot calmly. "I'm off to report to the Headmaster about it. Is he in his office?" "No, unfortunately Cid is at a meeting. You cannot speak with him now. It's rather…important business," replied the Shumi's loyal servant. In being built, they were designed to speak in low profile, so only NORG and Headmaster Cid could go into the money talks alone, with no one else invited in.

"But surely what I have to say is important business too." Leonhart verbally counter attacked. _I don't care how human they seem to be. In my opinion, having robots serve as faculty members is a STUPID idea,_ he silently complained to himself. He felt rather impatient, resting one hand on his hip. Couldn't the hunk of metal even SEE how important SeeD missions were to this Garden?! Apparently not.

"Of course, but discussion on funds are more important," it argued. _Now that's just bullshit,_ Squall thought. In frustration, he quickly gave up in a sigh. There was no use in fighting with a machine designed to follow specific orders. It was stupid. "Well, can you pass a message for me?" requested Squall, rather irritated. With a slow nod, the robot complied. "Good… Tell Cid that I have to speak with him in private…in his office. I have to report to him about the mission's failure, and other matters." With his eyes as cold as steel, he added, "And be sure to tell him this…now." The faculty member nodded again, and replied, "I shall tell him this directly. Thank you Squall." It walked towards the glass doors of the elevator. They welcomingly slid open in a heartbeat. Before the robot stepped in, he turned and faced Leonhart one last time. "Is there anything else?" "No…" said Squall as he turned around and decided to head back toward the others. It wasn't like there was anything better to do. Besides, didn't Dr. Kowadaki finish up with the X-raying of Marianne's head by now? Surely, he was curious in Quistis's suspicions of a possible fracture. And if he ignored his curiosity, it would bug him until he would reluctantly obey and feel rather grumpy as a result.

The robot willingly stepped inside the elevator, and opened a panel on the side of it as the bulletproof glass doors shut close as quickly as they opened. It was a computer panel of some sort. There were numbered keys from 0-9 below the screen as it automatically turned on. Using a bony metal index finger he punched in a number code and pressed the enter key to the right of the others. "ACCESS GRANTED," read the screen in capital and digitalized green letters. The elevator slowly began to descend…

During those four minutes in the lobby, the others managed to keep themselves occupied. Zell was thumbing through his Triple Triad card collection. Irvine was polishing his gun, since it had been hours since the last time he's done so. Selphie and Quistis were chatting amongst themselves. Their faces expressed concern and worry. Fujin just stood silently, staring at the doorway to the infirmary. She was waiting expectantly for Seifer to return.

Rajin was looking around from one person to the other, obviously trying to find something to do. He peeked over Zell's shoulder, looking at the cards. He shortly glanced at Irvine rubbing a while cloth up and down his rifle. Quistis and Selphie seemed rather busy. So he was talking to Fujin. The silver haired tomboy wasn't one of friendly chat, but Rajin had seen her to be a good listener, and every now and then she'd reply in a few words of statements.

"Ya know, I don't think Seifer's himself today," Rajin said suspiciously to his posse partner. He talked in a low voice so no one could overhear him. "Him and that new chick have been having a little chit chat, shunning us out, ya know? It's not like I don't approve of Marianne. She's cool and all, but I just find this strange, ya know?" Fujin had no comments to give at this time as she had felt slight relief in seeing Seifer walking out of the infirmary. Finally, the one man she could tolerate.

"Hey," Almasy said calmly in getting everyone's attention. Quistis spoke up. "Seifer, what did Kowadaki say?" With an innocent shrug (and he seemed to be doing this a lot recently), Seifer answered, "You're right. Marianne's got a fracture, but it's only a small one." Just then, he turned to see Squall run up to join everyone else. He seemed to have caught the last sentence that escaped from Almasy's mouth. "So, she's going to be alright?" asked Leonhart. With a huff, Seifer replied with a rude remark. "What do you care?! All you do is scare her." The brown haired young man scowled in annoyance. _I don't have the time for your stupid insults goddamn it. Just SHUT UP, _thought Squall, mainly directing the facial expression to Seifer.

"Well, it's only just a small crack in the side of her head, so she'll only have to be in there for a week or so," Almasy estimated. _So, she made it by a thread. Marianne had been lucky,_ Leonhart confirmed to himself as he shifted his eyes upward into Seifer's and acknowledged the information with a slow nod.

"Seifer?" called a voice from behind. Almasy turned around to see Dr. Kowadaki standing in the doorway entrance hall to the infirmary. "Marianne wants to see you." Seifer nodded respectfully and began to follow her back, with the others slowly joining him…

As the elevator reached the basement area of Garden, the glass doors flew open. Inside the room, there were other faculty members, NORG, and Cid, sitting at a long rectangular table with a small bunch of chairs for the robots to sit in. They were treated like human beings to the yellow faced one. NORG was rather obese and large for a Shumi. The name itself was an acronym in short for the entire Shumi name. Namaksi Orga Rhinal Gerlohl. The Shumi language was a very sophisticated one, and humans would never be able to learn what they mean. When the Gardenmaster first introduced himself to Mr. Kramer, he thought up the name NORG.

As he sat in his big cushioned sofa chair, he was just ending the first negotiation to all finances of Balamb Garden. He was interrupted by the new arrival. "Mr. Gerlohl," it called to its master. Whenever the robots were to be in NORG's presence, they were to formally address him by "Mr. Gerlohl." And the Gardenmaster said it was okay to use the abbreviation around humans, since he came into contact with very little. Just with the Headmaster. "I've come with a message for Mr. Kramer…"

The machine waited patiently as NORG was able to tolerate it. Surely a message from one of those youths couldn't be much of a delay. The wrinkles on his forehead were now shown as NORG's eyebrows narrowed a little, usually not liking to be interrupted while talking about money. "Very well, but make it quick," the Shumi said to his creation. It nodded and focused its glowing red eyes to Cid. The Headmaster listened attentively as the robot repeated the exact message that Squall had given. "Message from SeeD Squall Leonhart just recently: he wishes to report you of his mission's failures and other important manners."

The middle aged human, like the Shumi, seemed to like to eat, but not as much as NORG, whose stomach was larger in size. In his comfortable brown trousers, red cotton vest, and white long sleeve dress shirt, a frown showed on Kramer's face. _He failed? Well, I'll have to speak with him right after this meeting is over,_ he thought as NORG brought back attention to discuss another matter. NORG was a being who didn't like time wasted.

Leaning forward in his seat, NORG informed, "Mr. Kramer, I must now talk about Mr. Seifer Almasy. He failed the exam four times over the previous years, did he not?" Cid nodded in confirming the facts. "Yes, but what about him?" NORG's hands came together and explained, "We'll have to consider of escorting Almasy off the premises. He's becoming a problem in my interest rates." "No," Cid quickly disagreed. "Just one more year, and I'll make sure Seifer becomes a SeeD. Reconsider this. He's the only other gunblade specialist out of Garden History. He's passed at the top of his class." "And I believe the other is Squall Leonhart, the SeeD with the message about a failed mission," added NORG, patience growing thin. " I think we can be proud enough for one who can master such a powerful weapon. Cid, Almasy is menace to this establishment. A waste of Gil. If you want him to succeed, then send him off to another Garden to be someone else's problem."

Was he hearing clearly? What the Shumi was saying didn't make Cid pleased at all. He was rather upset. "No, I cannot allow it," Kramer firmly stated. "If we transfer him to another Garden, then he will never change! All I ask is one more-" "NO!" The loud bellow from NORG'S breath echoed throughout the entire basement area they were sitting in. "NO more chances! Seifer's had four already! …Cid, you have failed to make him improve. I need more room for funding and I will not let him stand in my way!" He turned to one robot who passed the message from Squall. With a slight frown, NORG realized that he had forgotten to dismiss this loyal servant. "Go tell Almasy to pack up his things and leave the premises as soon as possible," he growled, not happy about how this negotiation was going. "Yes sir," the robot replied blankly, and walked back to the elevator.

"You…you can't do this," Cid argued, rather shocked and angry at the same time of NORG's sudden decision. "I already have. Can we move on?" NORG pressed his partner in irritation. They've had disagreements and came to terms of negotiation before, but this was rather different. Seifer was a human being, and NORG felt he couldn't fit into his plans anymore. Sure he admired his skills before in the past, and tried to have hope in him succeeding, but the Shumi had started to give up on him after noticing that he had not passed the SeeD exam for the fourth time now. "No, we may not move on," Cid said rather stubbornly and stood out of his seat. "Not until you give Seifer one final chance. I'll make sure this time, one hundred percent, that he succeeds." "You've said something similar the last time!!" NORG hollered in Kramer's face. Smelling his Hyne awful bad breath had caused the Headmaster to slowly sit back down.

One of his hands clenched into a fist and banged hard against the long table's smooth and wooden surface. "Is that all you care about?! Money?!" NORG gave a simple nod in reply. "Are you forgetting?" one of his robots piped in. "Mr. Gerlohl is very rich and had generously offered his wages to keep Balamb Garden money. Mr. Almasy is nothing more than a failed financial benefit." "Financial benefit?! …After all this time, " began a very disappointed Cid Kramer. NORG couldn't take the pressure anymore and cut off his partner once again. "MOVING ON…" With that, Cid felt rather hurt, and got up from his chair, similar to NORG's. The rest were wooden. "Seifer is one of my very own, and I can't send him out like that! He has nowhere to go! I'm going to have a talk with him," One of the faculty administrators to the right of Cid grabbed him roughly by the arm. "Sit down Mr. Kramer," it said. "Let go of me!! You piece of-" Cid yelled as another faculty rushed to help the other robot in restraining him.

"You are not leaving until this meeting is over," NORG said under his breath. Rather angry was he. "There are still more things we need to discuss." Never in his entire career had the Headmaster seen the Shumi act like this! This was just appalling. "You… money pinching son of a bitch!" Cid cried out, struggling to fight back the urge to break down in tears. Seifer was one of many he loved and cherished as a son, and now he was going to lose him. There was an awful future up ahead for him, and there was nothing that Kramer could do about it. In aggravation, NORG rubbed his brows on his hairless head with his fat yellow fingers. This meeting was going to be longer than what he had planned…

****

I see the picture! Blurry, but now it's in focus!

A fairy tale I purchased on my own…

The X-ray transparency was examined and held by a set of long and slender fingertips. Trepe pushed her light pair of glasses up to the bridge of her nose. "…It doesn't look too bad," the blonde haired female said, looking up to the others. She passed Marianne's X-ray results over to Selphie, who briefly nodded simply in looking at it and gave it to Zell. "It almost looks like a scratch," he observed as Squall took a glance too. "You were really lucky Marianne," Selphie said in kindness. "Yeah, by a thread," Seifer added dryly to the "messenger girl". The nickname he came up with, and didn't even get to learn her name yet. Until about now. "If it weren't for me, she would have died." Almasy then stopped, noticing how quiet Marianne was.

Dincht had pulled out a chair near the bed she laid down upon and was trying to keep her calm all he could. In his eyes, Marianne looked rather down. _She must be thinkin' about her world or somethin'…_

Marianne's eyes shifted to look at them one by one. Including Squall, who leaned up against the wall on the left of her band, next one of the windows and blankly looked at her in response. Her insides cringed once again. She would start feeling nervous inside while coming into close contact with Leonhart. "So…" she slowly began. "Did you talk to Cid yet?"

Squall shook his head no and looked to her. "He's at a meeting, something more important than what I have to say to him." He was grumbling a little bit in his words. "What? What could be more important than this?!" Quistis demanded, not believing what she heard. "We have to go talk with the Headmaster. Now." "One of those damn faculty members wouldn't let me intrude, so I asked it by the elevator to pass on a message," Leonhart explained. Zell quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of message?" he wondered as all eyes were looking on the original SeeD squad leader.

Rajin then suddenly announced in the background, "I'm goin' to the men's room, ya know?" and began to leave. He was standing behind Seifer, who was standing next to the chair that Zell was sitting in. Basically everyone but Kowadaki (who was busy in the back) had crowded around Marianne's hospital bed. Besides, Rajin had been wanting to go to a restroom for a long while anyway. He heard Quistis, Zell, and Squall debating about the issue with Headmaster Cid in leaving. "What are we going to do now guys?" "I don't know…" "Yo, I think we should just go to Cid now…"

The conversation was still going on as Rajin walked into the lobby, and made himself head for the dormitory area. One of the faculty members of Garden could be seen walking around, turning its head as to look for something. It spotted Rajin, and knew where ever him, and Fujin or one of the two were, Seifer would not be far away.

Rajin gave a friendly gesture and was walking the robot's way. "Mr. Rajin, would you happen to know where Mr. Seifer Almasy could be?" Rajin looked rather surprised and said, "Yeah, why? Is Seifer in trouble…again?" He asked this specifically because Seifer had been known to 'cause trouble within Balamb Garden's walls. Picking on others, mouthing off at the teachers, or just skipping class. "No, he is not in trouble," NORG's robot stated in a firm reply. "I just need to speak with him." Rajin shrugged his shoulders and whatever tension he had slide off with ease. For this muscular guy, he never held a grudge against anyone in his life. But if one of the posse was in trouble, Rajin would stand up for his friends without hesitation.

"He's in the infirmary," Rajin told the faculty member without any anger in his voice, bit he sounded laid back and easygoing. With that the loyal servant of NORG headed for the infirmary as he as instructed to in getting Almasy to pack up his things and just leave.

In arriving, the mechanical administrator called to Seifer by name. Seifer knew he was probably in deep shit for causing a havoc within Garden in attempt to flee to Timber to help Rinoa out. Almost he wanted to tell it to fuck off, but knew that whenever he was in trouble, one or two faculty members would tell Seifer to go to Headmaster Cid. Hah! Like those lessons from the old man actually helped him any. He would only keep low for a bit and then rise to cause trouble all over again. "So, let me guess, go see the headmaster?" he wondered of the machine. It shook its head. "No, because you have to pack up and leave Balamb Garden as soon as possible."

Marianne had started to slowly sit up on this. "What?" she asked of what she saw as a junk pile of metal. "I was ordered to tell Seifer to gather his belongings and leave the premises," said the faculty bot. "WHAT?!" Almasy shrieked, not liking this at all. _But…I've only just begun to trust Seifer. He just can't get up and go now. _ Zell had seen Marianne sit up and was trying to coax her to lie back down, but no. Seifer and her had formed a bond of trust and that was going to be broken if he left. She pushed Zell's arm away. "No, he's not going anywhere," Marianne told "Metal Trash," the nickname she mentally thought up for the faculty member that was getting on her and Seifer's nerves. "Who are you?" the robot demanded of the human he didn't recognize. "You certainly cannot be a student of Balamb Garden." "Take me to NORG," she said to Metal Trash bluntly, and to the point. There was a moment of silence. _NORG?_ thought Squall. "What the-" Seifer began in cursing, but he was cut off by the robot's urge to speak to this girl again.

"How do you know about him? None of you are supposed to know," Metal Trash said. If it remained silent any longer, the mechanical humanoid would blow a small fuse or two in unbelieving in what it had heard Marianne say. "Why don't you take me to him? I'm not gonna let Seifer leave," she said in a rather low and dull tone of voice. The robot thought this was a smart decision. Marianne winced a little from the head pain, but struggled to push it aside. "Follow me then," the bot instructed the human, whom it assumed her to be strange.

"Marianne, no…" Quistis insisted. "You have to lie down." _"What are you doing?!" _ a displeased Bahamut hissed in her mind. "No, I have to do this." Marianne told Trepe, ignoring Bahamut for the second time ever. She was going to repay Seifer now, and if he did leave, she might not ever see him again. Zell and Selphie were talking to her at the same time. She only caught words mentioning about her headache and she had to rest up. The rest was just yadda yadda. Irvine observed Marianne's facial features. "HEY!" he yelled over the quarreling of Timlitt and Dincht. They all looked to him. "Marianne, be reasonable about this…" "Fuck that," Marianne grumbled before Kinneas could continue. Seifer was rather surprised by her outburst.

Marianne gave a slow nod to NORG's loyal servant while everyone else around her fell in shocked silence. "I'll go with you on one condition," she continued, her angry eyes burning into the light up eyes of the scrap metal who was ordered to make Seifer leave. "Seifer and Squall come with me." She looked to those two. "Squall has to report to Cid on what happened with his mission." Leonhart felt himself nod in agreement. This seemed good and bad to him. He was glad to come along to make sure Marianne didn't try to do anything she would regret, and the fact that he _had_ a report to give to Headmaster Cid. The bad thing was that she wouldn't be feeling too much up to it, with her head pain and all. _But I got the feeling she has to do this now…_

Marianne then looked to Seifer, and forced a grin and wink to him. He looked pretty concerned about her well being and confused at the same time as to what in the HELL was going on. _Shit Marianne, what do you think you're doing?!_ "And I believe Seifer here also wants to know why he is ordered to leave," Marianne quickly added. After listening to her requests, the robot nodded, absorbing the information.

With that, Squall, Marianne, and Seifer, being reluctant, followed Metal Trash to the elevator. On the way, Almasy demanded of her, "Are you _sure_ you want to do this?" Usually the only people that stood up for him were Rajin and Fujin, and the fact that she had those head pains. "It's too late to turn back now…" Marianne replied to him as they walked along the lobby area. "And, I feel like I owe you one." "You don't owe me anything," Seifer said arrogantly. "I can take of myself." Squall rolled his eyes. _Right, sure…_

Stepping inside the elevator's interior, they watched the faculty bot type in the following numbers: 076368. Then it pressed the enter button. Like last time, the letters on the control panel screen read "ACCESS GRANTED." Slowly, the elevator began to descend.

While they were moving, Marianne had something to ask of Metal Trash. _Heh heh, damn that's funny…_ A little humor was good at a time like this, but surely it wouldn't last long. "Hey, Metal Trash," Marianne began to the robot. "…Metal Trash?" Seifer repeated as he looked to Marianne in bewilderment. Okay, that pretty much blew her being silly moment. She mumbled to herself, forgetting what she was going to ask. Well, in whatever it was that she wanted to know, she would soon find out.

The doors opened as the three humans looked through the glass. _There's that yellow bastard NORG alright, _Marianne thought to herself as the Shumi noticed the door open. He was rather angry of the interruption. He then sighed to himself. Machines aren't always perfect. Every now and then they would make an error. Marianne commented to herself, _Whoa, that is one ugly creature…_

The Shumi were the only creatures with brains similar to a human's. Only Hyne knows why they were created. Most of the time, these two races were at peace with each other. With NORG, it's a different story.

****

Barely treading, water knowing I will not give up

I will not give up!!!

I will not give up….

"Mr. Gerlohl-" the robot began, but Marianne stepped past it and blurted, "I just have to say one thing. Seifer. Stays." Leonhart and Seifer looked at NORG for the first time. They looked to Cid, who was in tears. Marianne had seen Cid too, and was about to walk up when NORG stepped in front of her. "WHO ARE YOU to barge in here and say what goes?!" he exclaimed, causing Marianne to squint in pain. "You need anger management," Marianne replied, pointing to him. Really, she didn't need his crap. One of the robots grabbed her by the arms and held her back. Seifer tried to help her, but he was held back too.

"You don't understand!!" Marianne yelled, a little louder, ignoring the head throbs. "Give Seifer a fucking break!" She looked to Cid, angrily. _"Marianne… Careful what you say…"_ Bahamut cautioned. She wasn't paying attention and felt rather upset. "He was possessed by YOUR…WIFE…"

That did it. The last sentence that came from her lips had brought NORG's full attention. Leonhart's too, for he was rather shocked. At first he didn't want to believe her. _"Squall, it's true. Cid is married to Edea,"_ Quezacotl confirmed. Squall was alarmed. "You're married to Sorceress Edea?!" he shrilled at Cid, who just nodded through his tears.

Seifer was alarmed too. "Son of a BITCH!" he cursed while struggling free of the robot's strongly firm grip. "How do you know about this?" Cid asked Marianne through his bitter sobs. Marianne hated him seeing him like this, but the truth revealed was never pleasant from the beginning.

NORG, on the other hand, was FUMING mad. "Tell your damn robots to let us go!" Marianne snapped, but NORG wasn't approaching her kindly at all. "Squall's got a report to make!" she added, while Leonhart looked rather shocked of all this. And angry in seeing Cid break down and being held prisoner in his seat. "Who are you?! Why are you doing this to Cid?!" he yelled to NORG who just bellowed "SILENCE!" in reply. Everyone fell quiet. Except for Marianne, who let out a moan in pain.

The Shumi turned to the girl. "This one seems to know more than she should," piped up the robot holding her still. It was twisting her arms behind her back, to which she felt the pain very much. "Owww!" she yelped. "You're not a SeeD of this establishment, are you?" NORG suspected. "I'm not telling you anything," Marianne managed to say through the agonizing pain she was in. She was struggling free but it was no use. She was no match for the machine's strength. It was best to not let her reveal anything else or something truly awful would happen.

And something awful was happening. She was getting rather upset and pissed off right now. "GET!! OFF!! OF!! ME!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs and still couldn't break free of the robot's grip. Tears were pouring out of her eyes.

Seifer had to help her, so he managed to twist free of his captor's grip and shoved the other one away that was holding her very hostilely. Squall had broken free and shoved his Revolver gunblade into the one that was holding him still. "I suggest you'd better stop this and leave, before someone gets hurt," he told NORG. "LEAVE?! LEAVE MY GARDEN?!" NORG boomed furiously. "YOUR Garden?!" Seifer repeated. "Squall, let's just kick his fuckin' ass!"

In over the past Headmaster Cid was given little respect, but Seifer knew that Balamb Garden was best off in his hands. And since when did this bastard have the right to take it from him?! "You FOOLS!" NORG bellowed. "I paid money for this establishment! I help with all finances, and everything else! **_I_** AM this Garden's MASTER!!" "Well, you're a penny pinching son of a bitch anyway," Marianne grumbled through the pain. "And you SERIOUSLY need anger management classes…"

Now NORG had just had enough of this foolish brat's attitude. He lost it. Blew off his lid. "WHEN I SERVE YOUR HEADS TO EDEA MYSELF, THIS SHALL BE STILL MY GARDEN!" "Well, you got a problem there!!" Seifer countered. "Edea is gone!!" But NORG was in no more mood to talk now.

In the back of his own basement area was some sort of device. There were two crystal orbs on the sides of them. There was a big seat, suited to fit NORG's size as he climbed into it. A metal covering slid over him. He began pushing different colored buttons and activated the orbs. From the outside of this strange weapon, the others had seen the two orbs on the sides glowing a pale blue. "…The hell?!" Seifer yelled in anger. "Marianne!" He turned to look at her, who looked really pale now. She was shaking, terrified. Squall had seen the look on her face too. _…I got a really bad feeling about this._ "THIS DEVICE IS MOST EFFECTIVE WITH LOTS OF MAGIC…" NORG boomed in explanation. "WHEN THE ORBS ARE RED, THAT MEANS A LOT OF MAGIC. I NEED LOTS OF MAGIC…PREPARE TO DIE…"

"Oh shit," Marianne whispered in a scared voice.

****

Finishing Statement by the Author: **Yeah, another very evil cliffhanger, but that's how this chapter's gotta end. I've yet to start chapter 11, which all about the two battles: against NORG…and somethin' else. I'm not gonna say, so you'll have to wait and see -cackles in evil laughter- MWAHAHA those two cursed words, "wait and see." And the next two chapters will probably take some time to get them to the way I like it.**


	11. Under Attack

****

Putting myself in my reviewers shoes, I don't think I could wait any longer than a week for this really, REALLY exciting chapter!! Don't fall of your seat, because this is only the first when the nonstop thrill ride of a fic gets to be so intense. I haven't even started chapter 12 yet! I just finished this one! Enjoy.

The perfect song lyrics to match this chapter's intensity: "Price to Play" by Staind! Off the 14 Shades of Grey album again.

Chapter 11: Under Attack

****

We fail to see how destructive we can be

Taking without giving back 'til the damage can be seen

Can you see…? Can you see…?

Backing up, Marianne was deciding to let Squall and Seifer handle this battle. She knew she didn't have any magic spells or weapons. But Bahamut had an idea that she could be of some use. _"Summon me,"_ the Guardian called to her. _…Huh?! Are you insane?! _she privately shrieked to him. There was no reply, because something from NORG was distracting him. He sensed…something. And from looking within Marianne's mind, he discovered she knew about it. _"You know that Leviathan's inside NORG," _he added. _Yeah? So? _ Marianne snapped at her GF, not really in the greatest mood.

The right orb of NORG's weaponry device turned from blue to yellow, warming up in using the magic power from it. The humming from the device was causing Squall to speak loudly so at least Seifer could hear him. "We can't let him use the magic on that…thing!" Marianne heard Leonhart say. Seifer did too. "So, we attack those orb things?!" Just then, the left orb turned yellow. "YES!!" Marianne shouted, which did not help her head pain at all. She placed a hand on where it hurt. The two turned to her, surprised. She then decided on Bahamut's offer. "You attack the orbs, I'll summon Bahamut!" "You can't be serious! You're not in good shape to fight! You don't have any weapons or magic spells!" Squall pointed out all at once. The right orb turned red, meaning of possible attack. _"SQUALL! Just do as she says! Hurry!" _Quezacotl called to him. _"Bahamut knows what he's doing…I hope." YOU HOPE?! _ Squall replied, really mad as he leaped forward and attacked the right orb, causing it to change from red back to yellow.

As the left orb turned red, Squall rushed and lashed at it with his Revolver gunblade. "SQUALL, You're going along with this?!" Seifer shouted to Leonhart. He couldn't believe this. Almasy knew that Leonhart knew better than to allow Marianne to be at risk of making her head injury worse. She was better off getting out of the way, to be where Cid was standing. The robotic faculty had blocked off all means for anyone to escape. So it's definitely possible if Squall, Marianne, and Seifer die, Kramer would go down with them.

__

"I believe I can numb the pain…but only for a while," Bahamut said to Marianne, persuading her to summon him. _Are you sure? Why haven't you told me this earlier?!_ Seifer turned to Marianne and said, "Let us handle this Marianne! Go over there with the Headmaster!" "Wait!" Marianne called, holding up a hand signal which meant "wait a minute" and continued to let Bahamut answer her question. Squall looked to Seifer. "My GF says Bahamut basically knows what he's doing! Are you just going to fuckin' stand there or help me?!" he scowled. He was only one person, and couldn't attack both orbs at once! Seifer quickly looked back to Marianne in worry as she listened to what Bahamut had to say, then had no choice but to help Squall in attacking the orbs. _"I can only do such a thing in urgencies such as this. I apologize if I hid this from you, but you can say what you want later. I need you to summon me. I can cause massive damage with my flame," _Bahamut advised.

Having no choice but to trust Bahamut, she asked him, _Alright, how do I summon?!_ _"Just concentrate. I want you to focus in seeing me, while I numb the pain. You can do it. I know you can." _In observing how Marianne knew how to defeat NORG, ideas were forming inside the dragon king's head. Marianne did as she was told, as she began to slowly feel the pain fade away. She was grateful for this, otherwise she wouldn't be able to help Squall and Seifer at all.

Almasy and Leonhart together as a team of two, had managed to keep the orbs blue while Marianne was summoning her Guardian Force. One standing in front of the right orb, as the other stood in front of the left orb.

She remembered the last time in seeing Bahamut was seeing his face in the bathroom mirror. For a moment, she considered if Squall saw him. _"Now is not the time to be thinking about that!!"_ Bahamut snapped, causing her to focus in seeing him in the mirror on that time in the ladies' room, in the lounge area of Deling City's hotel.

In time, Bahamut appeared, and he was standing on all fours behind her. _"Move,"_ he commanded as Marianne did so without any hesitation, knowing why the dragon spirit was there.

With an ear splitting roar of a battle cry, Squall and Seifer decided to run out of the way too. The orbs on NORG's weapon remained blue. Marianne was standing to the side as the other two humans joined her. The pain was still gone, as Marianne realized that even if Bahamut was out of her mind, he was still in some sort of connection to her.

They watched as the gigantic Guardian begin to stand on his two hind legs. Bahamut opened his mouth wide, revealing his teeth for a second, and then light blue fire escaped from his breath, slightly scorching the metal surface of the machine in front of him. NORG let out an angry roar in response. He was still pretty furious to the group of three.

One by one, the orbs turned back to yellow. "Wow," Marianne mouthed to herself, blown away in seeing this. And she could even feel the heat from the attack. It was so intense! When Bahamut was done, Marianne felt him go back inside her. _WOW! BAHAMUT…You were AWESOME!!!_ commented Marianne, feeling blown away by what she had witnessed.

"Good! Keep it up," Squall slightly praised her as Seifer followed him to keep the orbs at bay. _"Again,"_ the dragon king commanded. Marianne didn't question why, because she knew summoning him was the only thing she could do right now. And this strategy formed seemed to be working.

She concentrated again and out Bahamut came, causing the metal of NORG's weapon to melt and dissolve. After a few times of this attack, NORG was getting even more angry.

From inside the machine, the Shumi pressed some buttons rapidly on the computerized control panel to make the door slide open.

Once NORG was revealed, Bahamut knew it was time to save Leviathan. _"Hold both palms out in front of you, and draw Leviathan out. Just concentrate…" _Bahamut began, and then decided to help her see for a second on what Leviathan looked like. A long snake like dragon. Long purple wings spread out from the Guardian Force's mid section. Marianne had known from playing Final Fantasy 7, and beating it, that Leviathan's power were water based attacks.

NORG crossed his thick arms over his chest. "I ADMIT YOU HAVE SKILLS," the Shumi boomed, and began to fire a magic attack on a random opponent. He struck at the first person he looked at with both small eyes. His long, large bony fingers spread out and casted a Water spell on Squall. Seifer, for an instant, watched as the transparent water bubble began to materialize around Leonhart. Almasy didn't stall for long, because he knew how this spell worked. Marianne couldn't break out of her concentration as she was trying to draw Leviathan out. Perhaps this would prevent NORG from using anymore water based attacks.

Seifer decided to cast the heaviest Thunder spell known in Gala. Thundaga. True, he had no Guardian force, but had leftover magic that Sorceress Edea had given him while he was still under her control. Almasy decided to use it when he found it right to do so. The Shumi wailed out in pain as the massive lightning bolt had struck upon him.

Squall, meanwhile inside the bubble, was lifted in the air for a short period of time as the bubble turned in a summersault and popped. He coughed as he landed hard on the ground. Oh how his lungs burned for air.

****

The more you take, the more you blame

But everything still feels the same…

She felt a little bit of pain from all this concentration, but Bahamut was doing all he could in numbing Marianne's headaches. The first sign to let her know that Leviathan was coming was NORG being able to feel the tug at his mind. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he shouted to Marianne, who kept focusing on drawing the Water Guardian out.

Squall was free to do attacks of his own by now. He powered himself to run up to the Shumi, the Revolver in both hands. One index finger rested on the trigger to the gun part of his weapon. With a leap, he slashed and shot one bullet into the enemy. Too fast for NORG to block too. "ARRRRGH!!" he bellowed and doubled over in pain for a moment. Then he quickly blasted Squall back with a Fire Spell. Leonhart went sliding backwards on the concrete floor.

****

The more you hurt, the more you strain,

The price you pay to play the game…

After a little more effort, a blue light appeared in front of NORG. "NO!!! LEVIATHAN!!!" NORG cried as the light faded in a heartbeat. Now it was time for that foolish human girl to feel his wrath. Fuming mad, he shouted, "PSYCHO BLAST!" He raised both of his long, thick as big tree branch arms and spread his fingers out. Before Marianne could even figure a way to avoid the attack, because she knew it would cause a lot of damage, she could feel her insides severely burning. A bright flash of electricity pulsed through NORG's fingers and he smiled as she fell backwards. "NO!!" Seifer and Squall shouted at the same time, but it was Seifer who rushed forward. NORG tried using a spell on Almasy, but the human was just too quick and cut-shot him deep in the arm. Now that hurt him very much.

Meanwhile, Marianne was still on the ground. Her vision blurred slowly and instantly felt her energy fading. The wind was knocked out of her. Her lungs! They burned!! Squall quickly reached into one of the inside pockets of his leather jacket. There were a stack of bright orange feathers, similar to those on Quezacotl's wings, but they weren't his Guardian's. He yanked the rubber band off and quickly dropped the Phoenix Down on top of her chest. He did this rather emotionlessly, because he's saved his comrades like this before and they never thanked him. Not that he wanted their gratitude.

Within a second or so, he had seen her gasp for a breath of air. The feather vanished. From observation, Marianne was too weak to fight as she closed her eyes and went unconscious. Leonhart acted quickly and threw down a small bottle. The glass easily broke as bright blue light went inside of the fallen girl.

Squall looked up and had seen Seifer blown away by another of NORG's Psycho Blasts. With that, Squall began to concentrate in summoning Quezacotl. "Cover me," he called to Seifer, who was getting up to stand. Almasy forced himself to fight down the pain as he saw Marianne, motionless with her eyes closed. "She'll live," Leonhart managed to say before totally focusing on Summoning.

****

And all you seek, and all you gain

And all you step on with no shame…

To summon a Guardian Force, it took massive amounts of concentration. The more concentration, the quicker the GF would attack. Seifer first managed to drag Marianne's body out of the line of battle and then gave her another potion just in case. "Shit girl, you must have known this was gonna happen!" he hissed and left her there. Squall was right. She was going to be okay…or so they hoped.

****

There are no rules, no one to blame

The price you pay to play the game…

Apathy…the chosen way to be…

Quezacotl had come and a shower of lightning had inflicted massive damage to NORG. The Shumi retaliated with another Psycho Blast, causing the two young men to cure themselves. Leonhart's Limit Break… The one that saved Marianne from sudden death…again… rushed forward and did multiple attacking moves, using both parts of his gunblade at the same time. He was doing this for the sake of Garden, and secretly for Marianne who had helped them so much in the beginning of the battle. No matter how much Leonhart denied it, he cared for others. He did anyway even if he didn't want to do so to begin with. When it comes to battle and other life threatening situations, he always puts others first before himself.

NORG, on the other hand could care less on what happens to Balamb Garden. If he won, which was less likely because of the damage Seifer caused to him, the only thing that would matter would mainly be about the money. If many of the junior classmen died in trying to make it to become a SeeD, he assumed there would at least be a few to share his riches with. But never again would he trust another human being while funding.

The Shumi raised an arm to attack, but it was too late. Squall had begun to perform Renzokuken, cutting and shooting one hit after another. With one final move, he sliced the blade through the former Gardenmaster. Yellow slimy blood oozed from NORG as he was now suddenly afraid. "NO MORE! NORG SCARED OF YOU SEEDS!" Leonhart flinched in response, because the rise of his voice was sure loud. Putting his Revolver gunblade down, he could see that NORG was finished. Not enjoying to see others die, he stepped down from NORG's device and walked back to the others. In walking, he examined the yellow ooze on the blade portion of his weapon. _Nasty,_ he thought. _I'll be sure to clean it as soon as we get Marianne back to the Infirmary._

Headmaster Cid, now Gardenmaster as well, crawled out from where he was hiding. He was under the long conference table in the basement. He seemed to think it was over, but it really wasn't.

****

Blindly look the other way while you waste away with me…

The faculty stood silently as NORG suffered for a minute and a half, then died of blood loss. The faculty had nothing to revive their master. Now they would eventually be forced to leave Balamb Garden. They would do it without force, but something had to be done first. On NORG's will, one of the machines were to grant vengeance for him. The one messenger bot, the same one who gave the message from Squall to the now Headmaster and Gardenmaster Cid Kramer, ran to the wall where the elevator was. There was a big and round red button. NORG's spirit was with this lone servant as it called to Squall and Seifer, "I hope you never make it out alive!" and pressed the button.

The large air vents of the basement area began to slowly open. And these were large metal doors for an air ventilation system. Mainly because Balamb Garden was so big. Only the now dead Shumi and his once owned faculty crew knew what lurked from the darkness. "Squall," Seifer called to Leonhart as his comrade nodded and knew what to do. As he was running, he saw two monsters come out. He then stopped for a second as the robot was getting in the elevator. _Can Seifer handle them?_ "I can handle them man! Just stop that robot!!" Seifer yelled to him as he caught up to him. Leonhart nodded and ran as fast as he could, passed the metal humanoid figures just standing around, into the elevator before the doors closed.

It turned and decided to kill Squall off, so it tried to punch him right in the jaw, but he dodged. It was too much of a tight fit in the interior of the elevator to get out his gunblade. So it was fist on fist. The former servant of NORG, A.K.A. "Metal Trash," managed to grab both of Leonhart's arms and slam him into one of the glass walls. Lucky him that they were bulletproof and could not be broken easily. However, the robot successfully hurt him though.

Now on his back, Squall kicked the sinister one away and quickly got to his feet. A rush of pain spread out across his back. He hissed in pain, seeing now that the contraption had slammed him pretty hard. It was too late to try and get his gunblade out as the elevator stopped in the lobby. The rest of the group that came with him, Seifer, and Marianne were standing in front of the elevator as the glass door swung open. Metal Trash pushed past them and ran off to the right. Its intention was to head for the training center. Placing itself in the master's shoes, Metal Trash knew NORG would be pleased of this. But the robot never felt pleasure, or any kind of emotion. It was just doing what it was ordered to do by NORG's wishes.

Leonhart yelled, "C'mon! We have to stop him!" and ran in the direction the robot went. The others, following him anyway because he would never steer them wrong, were not sure as to what was going on. But it seemed like the forces of evil were lurking around the bend…

In the basement, indeed there was evil lurking. Seifer wanted to go to radio the Infirmary really quick to try and get the medics down here, but the robots shoved him back, wanting him to fight the creatures ahead of him. Oilboyles were what these strange creatures were called. Fortunately, Marianne was out cold to see them. If she were awake, she would let out a scream. That same kind of scream from first seeing the Iguions from last night. It would send a chill up Almasy's spine.

The Oilboyles were considered as pets among NORG, and kept them in the air vents. He fed them everyday, and would feed it just about any creature the Shumi could find. The creatures once fed together on an abandoned little five year old human boy the Shumi found while traveling to stretch his legs, and got away with it, dragging him in with a gag in his mouth in the middle of the night while everyone else slept. No one within the walls of Balamb Garden knew of this. No one heard the child's screams, for the vents' noise was loud over the boy's cries for help.

In an odd mix of crab, octopus, and squid, the fearsome Oilboyles were ready for attack. And lucky for them that the lights were dim, for their little beady black eyes are used to the dark. Bright light would just irritate and blind them.

Their skin was pale white as a ghost, with black bumps all over. Six tentacles in all, three on each side of their bodies. At the end of their octopus like tentacles were crab-like pincers, designed to hold the prey as the bottom part of the tentacles injected acidic venom to eat through skin and bone to turn into mush. The prey would suffer and wail for a little bit, then die as the venom reaches the brain, killing it instantly. Once the prey stops struggling and making noise, their small round mouths were there to suck up the mush and continue to use their venom to dissolve the rest of its flesh and bone. And last but not least, their three feet long tails to whack the prey down, or use it like an extra tentacle for grabbing. For the human child, it wasn't a fun experience.

From the tops of their heads, were the same kind of material a squid on Earth would shoot to blind its enemy to escape. Unlike a normal squid, the Oilboyles used the oil like material to blind its prey. The new prey that the Oilboyles first saw was Seifer. One of them shot a stream of the sticky black liquid for Almasy's eyes, but the prey ducked and attacked one of them with a long, sharp object. His Hyperion gunblade. It cut through its skin as something else hit a vein and caused the hostile beast to scream and use one tentacle to toss Seifer to the side.

As for the other Oilboyle, it quickly got bored of watching the action and saw rather fair easy prey. There were two, and it had to pick one. The one lying on the ground before it. Kramer, standing nearby had to hold it back. Hopefully it wouldn't try to blind him, and the monster didn't as he rushed forward and grabbed the top of the two of its tentacles, being very careful as to not touch the bottoms or the monster would win over him in one moment and hold him to feast on instead. Unfortunately, the Oilboyle was not interested in Kramer. And used its other tentacles and tail to knock him out of the way.

"Help!!" Cid called to Seifer, who was rather busy with the first Oilboyle. His shirt and arms were covered in the monster's black projectile substance that it tried to blind him with. Almasy cried out while holding up the bottom parts of a few tentacles away from his face. The palms of his hands severely burned. The acid was just starting to chew through his hands now as Seifer had it all worked out. Reaching for the gunblade on the ground, he grabbed it with his one free right hand. It also stung in pain from the venom, but not as much as his left hand. The weapon was knocked out of Seifer's hand by his enemy's thick tail and used the opportunity to lunge on top of him.

Quickly, he shoved the blade up the Oilboyle's small and round mouth and pulled the trigger. It wailed and pulled away hurt, tentacles flailing, and just out of control. Almasy took this to advantage and finished it off by slicing off the top of its head, causing the oil substance to spill out all over the floor. The brain was fully exposed as Seifer cut-shot into it. The beast died instantly.

What you pay to play the game…

What you pay to play the game…

On the other side of the basement area, the one Oilboyle left alive was having a pleasant feast on one of Marianne's legs. The acidic venom was eating through her jeans as two pincers held a good grip on the helpless and unaware prey's leg. Cid tried multiple times to shoo the monster off. He even tried harming it with one of the wooden chairs at the conference table, but the Oilboyle used its thick membrane, blubbery tail to break it.

Seifer attacked from behind, casting Fira on the beast. It wailed and screamed as the flames were burning into it's once white skin, turning into a slight shade of grey. The Oilboyle turned angrily and decided to strike at Almasy with its two front tentacles, the ones to hold Marianne's leg to as its meal. Seifer saw the tentacles and sliced them clean off like he did to the first Oilboyle's head. Like a knife slicing through butter. The monster screamed again furiously and blinded Seifer in the eyes. "AHH!" he cried out as the oil substance touched his face, feeling a burning sensation. Really mad, the Oilboyle had decided to make a meal of Seifer Almasy, but its red blood was flowing out of its body faster than it intended to attack. It was a good thing too, because Almasy had been blinded by the monster's natural projectile. Weak and unhappily helpless, the Oilboyle slumped to the floor, wailing in pain of the loss of the non moving and separated two tentacles on the ground in front of it.

"Get out of my way!" growled the one in charge of Balamb Garden as he pushed past the robots that were watching it all. He went to a device next to the red round button on the wall near the elevator and pressed a few numbered buttons. "Kramer to Infirmary! Dr. Kowadaki, do you read me?!" he yelled into the speaker. "I know you're in there! Send some of the medical students with two first aid kits and a stretcher! …And send a clean up crew! Hurry!" At last, the good doctor replied, "Yes sir!"

With that, he ran to Seifer, asking, "Are you alright?" "Ahhh!" There was an unpleasant response from the hero of Kramer and Marianne. He cursed under his breath, then he managed to say, "Yeah, I'm okay…" Cid nodded and looked at Marianne lying on the ground nearby. She was going to be okay.

The only human in good condition turned furiously to NORG's former servants. "Get. Out," Cid directed to them, very angrily…

Within the Garden's training center, Metal Trash was stirring up a problem for the group of young humans that followed it. "Wha… Where's Marianne and Seifer?!" Zell realized as they were standing in the entrance for a moment. "They're downstairs," Squall said. "They're fine." He was mainly using his eyes to try and figure out which direction the robot went off to.

Feet away from the teenagers, a gigantic dinosaur like creature had roared in upon seeing this new…thing that moved. Perhaps it would make a nice meal? The creature looked to be of one of the extinct dinosaurs on Earth. A T-Rex. But in Gala, it was known as a T-Rexaur. It looked very much like the old and long gone Tyrant King on Marianne's home world, only on the small, skinny, and short arms, there were three fingers on each of them.

The former servant of NORG broke into a run, using itself as bait to lure the T-Rexaur to its master's assassins. Easily convinced, the dinosaur followed, roaring and stomping the ground with its really big bird like feet. Like dinosaurs on Earth, the T-Rexaurs also had pea sized brains. And usually this beast would feast on Bite Bugs or whatever other little creatures lurked around besides Grats, which were part plant. The T-Rexaur was a carnivore.

It wasn't to long until the two caught up to the SeeDs. "Uh oh! It looks like the robot's brought along a friend!" Selphie observed and got her Morning Star, two specifically designed metal spears with a chain between them. Zell was already prepared, for his own body was his own deadly weapon. Squall whipped out his Revolver gunblade. Quistis unwrapped the chain whip that was worn around one of her arms. Irvine held up his rifle towards the T-Rexaur.

"Selphie!" Leonhart called from behind him. "You have Ifrit junctioned, right?!" "Yeah!" Selphie replied automatically. "Then summon him to attack," Squall advised, glaring at the beast who now quickly lost interest in the robot. It saw the new things move. And this meant a bigger meal. Out of the corner of Squall's right eye, he saw Metal Trash making the getaway. _Go ahead and run, coward,_ he scowled silently and decided to make the first attack upon the T-Rexaur. Jaws open, the dinosaur chomped at the squad leader, not knowing the thing was a squad leader. It just saw the little puny looking creature as fresh meat.

Quistis covered him and smacked the T-Rexaur's snout hard with her whip. Squall casted Thundara, and the dinosaur coiled its head back, a bit dazed, but furious. Timlitt began to concentrate, calling for Ifrit to burn this monster. _Burn him good Ifrit! _she mentally cheered as she felt the Guardian of Fire make his appearance. Ifrit roared and the T-Rexaur roared back. Rising up slowly into the air, the Guardian began to turn the earthly ground he stood into a big boulder of hot molt. Embers fell loose onto the ground around the T-Rexaur's feet as Ifrit stopped, satisfied on how high above the monster's head he was. With both fists, he let out a another roar in battle cry, and slammed his fists down on the big red, and hot, boulder. The dirt brown and thick scaly skin was set on fire, causing the monster to cry out in pain.

The SeeDs got out of the way as the rock speedily crashed downward on the T-Rexaur's head. One attack from Ifrit would not be enough, but several. This was Squall's main strategy. Of course Selphie would be exhausted by the time the dinosaur dies, but it was the group's best chance in winning. Usually in encountering a T-Rexaur, it was best to run, because they were amazingly healthy beasts! But at this time, running was no option. And this one was trying to make meals of the SeeDs right in the middle of the training center's entrance!

Selphie kept on summoning Ifrit as the others worked together to attack the very dangerous monster in combinations of magic spells and weapon based attacks. Irvine would shoot a bullet or two from his rifle every now and then. Squall made the giant bastard bleed by slicing into the less armored belly of the T-Rexaur. Zell couldn't do much of with his punches, but knew a Blind would lessen the probability of them being eaten alive and just randomly tossed spells along the way. And Quistis tossed spells at some times, and other times with her chain whip.

The dinosaur was stubborn to quit. After a long hour of hunting, it FINALLY found something to be worth of a meal. And if the set of prey wanted to put up a fight before eventually defeating them, it was just fine with the T-Rexaur. It was too stubborn to realize that in reality, the beast would lose.

Quistis decided to help out a bit and summoned Diablos. And Trepe has done this enough times already to know what Diablos looked like and a clear image of the Guardian of Gravity appeared in her mind's eye. A group of little black bats appeared out of thin air and circled around the blonde girl's slender, tall, and petite figure one time. Out of the small creatures formed a large ball of a thick and slimy black substance that was different from oil. The same type of substance used in any gravity magic spell. Diablos himself, the awesome Guardian Force of Gravity, emerged from the bottom of the Gravity ball he was inside of.

Hovering and flapping his dark violet bat wings to keep him in midair, Diablos twitched to get the rest of his source of energy off of him so he wouldn't be distracted in using his Dark Messenger attack. With a disturbing grin in the pleasure of battle, he used one hand to thrash the black liquidated ball down towards the T-Rexaur below him. If only Marianne were here to witness Diablos' attack in person, because this mighty GF was her first most favorite! Bahamut, in getting just getting to know him, became her second most favorite.

Well, the gravity ball did a decent amount of damage on the dinosaur, but not as much as Ifrit's Hellfire attacks. But still, a decent amount. Now the battle was growing extremely and dangerously serious. Out of line, the T-Rexaur had enough of playing fair in the fight and decided to lunge at one of its chosen group of prey closest to its jaws. Too quick in to cover her back, Selphie was chosen. She let out a shrill cry, followed by a terrified scream. "SELPHIE!!!" the rest of the group shouted in unison. "NO! SHIT!!" Zell cursed and knew better to summon Shiva at a time like this, but he so BADLY wanted to.

Leonhart thought quick and glared over in Kinneas' direction. "Irvine! Shoot it!!" Squall yelled to him. "I'm on it!" the cowboy responded and quickly aimed for one of the monster's eyes. Selphie was practically helpless in the T-Rexaur's jaws as it swung its head furiously from side to side in a savage way. Its teeth had sunken into Timlitt's sides. With a simple pull of the trigger, the bullet rushed out of Irvine's gun and directly hit the beast in the eyeball when it was exposed for only a second. And a second was all that he needed to kill the dinosaur off.

The little bullet was something the T-Rexaur didn't notice, for it was too mad and busy trying to eat Selphie. Before it could realize what it was going on, there was intense pain in its right eye. The pain spread quickly throughout the inside of its head as it opened it's mouth to scream, dropping Selphie onto the grass in the process. The beast died in mid scream, as it fell over backwards onto its side. Usually Irvine didn't have to do this kind of thing, because he was a little nervous and edgy in making accurate shots. But when it came to life and death of someone he cared about, he would pull it off without a problem.

Leonhart rushed to Selphie and picked her up in his arms. Together, they ran out of the training center to the Infirmary, after a phoenix down and two Hi-Potions. Timlitt was unconscious, but barely alive.

On the way to the medical center, classes have been over in the level above the lobby area. Meaning that the cadets and junior classmen were talking amongst themselves and doing the usual in their free time before dinner was ready. They noticed most of the familiar group but Irvine as they talked in alarm and suspicion.

One of the girls that Squall had recognized as a classmate had caught up to him in pace, and was sort of in the way in getting to the urgent destination. Chestnut brown hair, tied back in a bun. Her eyes were grayish green. "Hey Squall! Oh my….SELPHIE!" "MOVE!!" Squall momentarily snapped, causing the clueless one to run off in temporary fright and stood behind to watch them run towards the Infirmary. Surely Leonhart didn't mean to approach so rudely to that nice, innocent young woman, but his comrade's life was at stake here! He didn't have time for ANY chit chat.

When they had arrived, the SeeDs noticed two familiar people occupying two beds. Seifer and Marianne. The Earth girl was still unconscious. A blanket covered her from her feet up to her waist. _Good,_ thought Leonhart. _She doesn't need to see this._ Seifer was awake, holding a damp and wet cloth to one of his eyes. His hands were bandaged up. "What in the hell happened to you?!" Zell shrilled, gazing at Almasy. "Monster attack," he simply said, calm and cool about it. _Thanks for your concern, Chicken Wuss, _Seifer sarcastically thought to himself. He got up as he noticed that Selphie was in Squall's arms. She was placed in that bed.

"What happened?" he asked, tone of his voice now serious. "T-Rexaur attack," Irvine stated. "It was going to eat Selphie." "Yeah, until you shot it with your gun! Good goin' man!" Zell praised and slapped him hard on the back. "But Seifer, what happened to your hands? What attacked you?" Quistis quipped in concern. "Oilboyles," Seifer said, without any dry humor. This wasn't a time to be joking around. "Two of them." "Yeah," Squall agreed. "I saw them but I…" he began and realized what he did was foolish. His head shifted to look at the ground at his feet. He shouldn't have let Almasy deal with them alone, but if he hadn't gone after that robot, the T-Rexaur could have caused havoc and injure many of the others within Garden.

Quistis didn't look pleased. Her arms rested on her hips. "Quistis, don't blame him," Irvine said. "If he hadn't chased that damn robot up to the training center, and stopped the T-Rexaur, other people would have been hurt." That didn't help much, but she sighed, aggravated with a headache in the middle of all this tension. "Still, we could have handled it," Trepe said. "Seifer shouldn't have been left alone."

"Hey, I'm not hurt that badly! Just a few burns," Almasy assured everyone. Quistis looked to him, and then backed to Squall, who shrugged innocently. From the back of the room, Dr. Kowadaki stepped in. This was not going to be a friendly conversation.

****

Finishing Statement from the Author: Another cliffhanger, but not as bad. Besides, this chapter is long enough as it is, and I put so much brain power into it! Hopefully by next week, chapter 12 will be up. Keep the reviews coming, for this is just going to get better and better…


	12. Currently Stumped

****

Just asking, but which of the battles in chapter 11 did you like the best? I want to know, my wonderful reviewers! Water Goddess, on MSN, mentioned she liked the T-Rexaur one especially. The action was just awesome, wasn't it?! -grins-

Okie, on with this next chapter FINALLY COMPLETE! Lyrics used: "I Don't Know" by lostprophets! I highly, HIGHLY recommend this band. These dudes are from the UK (Wales to be exact), and are fairly new, but AMAZING. I'm so hooked on the album I have of them. "Start Something."

Chapter 12: Currently Stumped

****

Today they ask me, "What do you always seem to find?"

But though I could not answer, I'd have lost my way

And I could tell that this ain't right…

"Dr. Kowadaki, I can explain…" Quistis began but the good doctor shook her head. "There's no need to explain anything," she stated in a flat tone. "Seifer, and Cid, have told me what happened down there," Inside of himself, Squall mentally sighed in relief, but she didn't stay calm much longer. "But she could have been killed!" Kowadaki scolded, referring to Marianne. She was still in the same hospital bed. Her skin was slightly sunburned from NORG's first Psycho Blast attack in observation of all but Almasy, Timlitt (also unconscious) and Kowadaki. "She has no weapons, no magic, and you-" She pointed a finger at Squall, who felt ashamed for his foolish actions. "Out of all people, you would have known better." _I know…_ thought Leonhart as he mentally kicked himself, angry of giving into her words. He was letting her treat him like a damn kid! He only gave her a look of anger now.

"But Marianne knew what she was doing," he scowled. "Foolish actions, I know, but Seifer would have been forced to leave if it weren't for her." Hating to admit it, but he just plain saw right through her again. It was like she knew that NORG had been behind all of this. And it seemed like she knew about NORG all along. Seifer, holding the ice white cloth to one of his eyes, always moving it to the other every minute or so, nodded. "And without Bahamut, we couldn't have defeated the son of a bitch successfully," he hissed through his burns.

"That is enough," said a displeased voice from the back of the room. All heads but Selphie's and Marianne's turned to look at the Headmaster, who was standing in the doorway to the X-ray room in the back, holding Marianne's X-ray results that shown the small fracture on her skull. He wanted to know who that girl was in stopping NORG's business meeting. The girl who had Bahamut, one of the most difficult Guardian Forces to get, junctioned to her. He could have asked Seifer about it, but knew he was in no mood. He was in the Blind status for quite a bit as Kramer had to lead him all the way back to the Infirmary while two medical students with a stretcher had carried Marianne to the room they were all in now.

Cid directed his attention to Squall. "Sir," the young man saluted as he saluted him back. It was a form of military code that Balamb Garden used. One out of many. "I need to give my report," Squall stated. With a silent nod, Kramer said in a calm manner, "Okay." In one hand, he held the X-ray scan by his side as Leonhart inhaled quietly and told of him about the failure of the previous missions. Liberating Timber, and the assassination of Sorceress Edea, Cid's wife.

"When my assigned team members and I reached the Timber Forest Owls base, we failed to capture the president on his train. The one we saw was apparently a decoy, a monster in disguise. In arriving to Deling, the real president was murdered by Edea…" In upon saying the name, Squall had took a moment's hesitation to continue. Everyone that was conscious in the room had seen that slightly pained look on the Headmaster's face. And what was even worse for Seifer and Squall together, was seeing him in tears. At his weakest point. "The sorceress had murdered President Deling, and Irvine Kinneas, our newest member from Galbadian Garden, was supposed to sniper her during the parade while she was on her float. She wasn't there." Cid gaped, looking around in noticing that Rinoa wasn't around. "…And where is Rinoa?" "…She was murdered by two Iguions back at Deling. Just before that, Irvine and I had found Seifer and Marianne was introduced, and she told us that the sorceress…was gone."

"And how did she know about Edea?" Kramer asked, his face paled in upon hearing of Rinoa's death. Even with the doctor in presence, Squall had decided to explain through his words and Marianne's combined on what he and the rest of the youths knew about Marianne. Thankfully Rajin and Fujin were not in the room or else everyone within Garden would know the cold truth. Because of Rajin's inability to keep such secrets. Dr. Kowadaki was never to be a babysitter, so if they dared to ask about their whereabouts, she wouldn't know. There were only so many people within Garden that needed her medical attention, and Rajin and Fujin were old enough to care for themselves now.

With a deep breath, Leonhart decided to be direct and brief. And all the eyes staring at him just created tension inside of himself. He hated every moment of this. "…Marianne is from another world called Earth," he began to explain. "Edea has discovered that our world was created as…some sort of virtual reality game that she had explained to us." Zell stood up straight and had to mention Marianne's point of view on this. "Sir, you should have seen her last night, at the Deling Hotel we stayed in. She was freaked out as much as we were, and didn't know that we were real." "And Edea brought her here to Gala somehow and switched places with her. The sorceress is now on Earth doing Hyne knows what," Squall added as Zell finished his statement.

Dr. Kowadaki and Headmaster Cid Kramer were both looking down at Marianne's unconscious form. There came absolute silence from the both of them. "I know it ain't easy to accept, but you shouldn't blame her. Marianne's told us the truth to let us help her. It was not easy at all for her to reveal, as it was for us to try and accept. Hell, we're STILL trying to accept this," Seifer said. "And this should not leave the room," Quistis suggested, resting one hand on the metal of Selphie's hospital bed.

"This just keeps getting more bizarre by the minute," Cid said in a rather small voice. A part of him was just blown away of it all. "So, what should we do?" Squall pressed, really eager to know if Kramer really did know what to do about Marianne. "We have no slightest idea as to help her get back to Earth and stop Edea from taking it over." Kramer looked up for a moment, and then looked back down at Marianne, staring down at her. Kowadaki had seen the Headmaster holding her X-ray scan, and informed him of how she got the small fracture.

There were questions that the Headmaster wanted answered, and the teens have answered them the best they could. Overall, this was just unbelievable. _I can't believe we are made up by a company on Earth, but there just can't be any other explanation, _the middle aged overweight man thought in silence. After a few short minutes of not saying anything, Kramer had come up with a conclusion to all of this. "This brave girl has stopped the business meeting and helped save Garden from an evil money grubbing Shumi, and prevented Seifer from being forced to leave," he pointed out. "I'm deeply in her debt, and my own wife has caused her so much pain…" From hearing all of Marianne's sad story and the madness that Edea had caused, he felt pretty bad for her. "I do not know for sure, but there must be a way to help this young woman."

The others nodded in agreement. While focusing of a strategy in helping to save Marianne's planet (Cid felt that they all owed her so much by now), she was starting to stir without anyone noticing at first. She felt a burn and itchiness from one of her legs as she heard faint voices. "I'm at least glad we are all civilized about this," said Irvine's voice. "No one's being hostile this time." "Hostile?" Kowadaki quirked. _I'm…alive? _was the first of Marianne's thoughts.

****

To find the strength of people

Who had never thought about a different way of life…

It just doesn't seem that easy…

Her eyes fluttered as Zell seemed to be watching her the whole time. "Yo, she's waking up!" Dincht said and gotten everyone's attention. Relief washed over Almasy like waves on a sandy beach. Once her eyes were fully opened, Cid Kramer spoke. "Welcome back Marianne." Slowly she began to sit up but Seifer's and Quistis's hands were on Marianne's shoulders. The injured one also noticed something else different about her. She realized that her jeans were taken off. "Burning, itching," were her first two words as she was fully aware and awake now. "You were almost about to become a monster's lunch," Almasy told her. "…Monster?" Marianne quirked. "What kind of monster?" This had surprised Cid, but remembered Squall and the others but Selphie and Kowadaki about her knowing about some certain things about Gala, but not everything as a "game player."

"Oilboyle," Cid answered as Marianne didn't get it. Bahamut volunteered to help by showing her a quick mental image of what it looked like. "Oh…" she felt herself say in surprise with a shudder. "I had to toss your jeans away because they were partially chewed up and soaked in Oilboyle venom," Dr. Kowadaki explained. "I assume you know about them? The Oilboyles?" Cid asked Marianne, who slowly nodded. He looked very shocked. In seeing her, the others had seen those blue green eyes of hers wide open in fear now. Marianne was mainly looking to Cid. "So, NORG is…" "Dead, yes," Kramer answered her and gently took her hand. "You may already know who I am. I'm Cid Kramer, Headmaster of Balamb Garden." "Yeah," she said, her voice in a near whisper.

She looked to Seifer and politely asked for the white cloth. He gave it to her without a problem, because the burns on his face weren't stinging a lot anymore. Almasy felt irritation, but not too much pain as he first felt when one of the hideous pets of the passed on Shumi blinded him. Reaching under the covers on the bed, Marianne used the ice cloth on her leg to soothe the slight pain on her right leg. She looked to everyone. And finally to Selphie, lying motionless on the bed to her left. "What happened to Selphie?" Marianne asked the others in a scared voice as fear ran through her veins. "T-Rexaur," Quistis said simply. "But she's just…resting right now. She'll be okay." Marianne caught the tone of Trepe's voice, meaning that the kind young woman wasn't completely sure.

She looked at the faces of those that were aware and conscious. Followed by the sound of Bahamut's irritated growling. _"Don't ever go reckless again. If you do, I will not help you," _ he grumbled. _I was very reckless…_ she thought as she saw Zell take her hand and hold onto it in comfort. Her eyes were watering as Cid spoke to her again. "I must say that I am so sorry on the behalf of my wife from doing this." He seemed to be crying too. She looked to Squall, who didn't look happy at all with this. _I hate seeing our Headmaster cry. He's supposed to be strong in this. …What the fuck are you lookin' at me for?_ He scowled at her as Quezacotl regarded him in disapproval. She fearfully looked away. _"Cid is just being a caring man towards Marianne. Since when is it not alright for a grown man to cry? Open your eyes and see. Your Garden's Headmaster deeply cares about his wife. Edea wasn't always like this."_

Leonhart crossed his arms and responded, _Oh yeah? Then go on and tell me, wise one. I'm just dying to hear your words of wisdom. _ His Guardian Force said nothing. Surely with an attitude like that, the immortals didn't have to take such ignorance. With irritation boiling inside of him, through his head, through his veins, he rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall, looking to Cid. _You must have some kind of plan, dammit! Say something._

Quistis and the others around Cid were standing around with looks of hurt and frustration. No one seemed to be thinking of a decent plan as to getting Marianne home. Zell seemed to be the one not thinking. He figured it was best for him to comfort, because he sure as hell couldn't think of anything! Marianne's mind called for her parents' support, but knew they weren't coming. They were going to be forced under that creepy woman's control to act like they never had her for a daughter. "Mom, Dad," she mouthed silently mouthed anyway while tears flowed down from her eyes.

With that, if no one was coming up with a plan, even while she had a goddamn headache, she was forced to do the thinking. Gently squeezing Dincht's hand in need of comfort, she shared her thoughts with the dragon king, _The only possible ways of getting back are by technology, or space transportation. To be specific is the area I do not know. _And then the place called Esthar appeared into her mind. _"Perhaps the space team could look for Earth using their telescopes," _ Bahamut considered. _"But I also suggest going to the one scientist that is brilliant. Dr. Odine." What?! The guy who took Ellone into captivity? "It's seems to be our only choices."_

She shared the small chat between her and the Guardian of Wisdom about those options. Squall seemed clueless. He knew very little about Esthar. Nothing about Odine. The others looked from her to Cid in silence. Kramer knew while he was broken down like this, he could not talk. "Um… I need to be alone in my office for a bit." He turned to Marianne, who nodded, understanding that this was a traumatic time for him.And so he left without saying anything more.

As soon as he was out of the room, Squall wanted to know what she knew about Odine and Esthar. "Well, what do you know about Odine?" he demanded. Zell remained where he was. "Yeah, who is he?" he wondered as he let her hold onto his hand as long as she needed to. He knew that she really wanted her mom and dad at a time like this. He would be frightened too if it was happening with him and his "ma." "Odine…is a scientist. Some guy who is an expert with magic and technology, I think," she answered for everyone. "Do you think he could help us?" Seifer asked. "I don't know, but it's a plan…" Marianne told him as another few drops of tears slid downward on her cheeks. "Better than nothin' I'd say," Zell piped in. He sent her an assuring smile that things were going to be alright. Well, he hoped so anyway.

****

I don't know where to go

I don't know what to be

I don't know how to change from being me…

Dr. Odine was a very disturbed scientist, with a lisp. Yes, he did indeed took Squall's half-sister, Ellone, into captivity for tests, because she alone had the ability to look into the past by connecting with another person. She would try to alter the present by doing this. Somehow the sorceress that reigned over Gala before Sorceress Ultimecia had discovered this unique child. Sorceress Adel. And of course Ultimecia wanted Ellone before she discovered about Marianne's home world. Realizing this, Marianne knew she had created major changes into what would have happened. The original "game plot." If only _she_ could alter time, then none of this would have happened. She would have never discovered that the people and monsters and environment of Gala were for real. Rinoa wouldn't have been killed by those savage Iguions.

Those were the good of things if she wasn't transported, but like a paradox, there was also the bad. Seifer would have been a bastard and killed innocent people. Ellone would be in danger of being used for Ultimecia's plans to compress time. Rinoa would be at risk of being possessed after the powers passed from Edea to her upon defeat. So basically, in one way or the other, someone was going to get the shitty end of the stick.

****

I don't know what to say

Maybe another day

I'll stop getting lost and find my way…home…

All I know is gone…

Marianne had not explained about Ellone or Adel. Bahamut had read through her mind, and silently agreed that it was to better off that way. In two by two, tears continued to slide and fall off of her cheeks. In looking into Zell's eyes, she had seen an attempt of comfort. It was mostly a sympathetic look coming from the spiked blonde. She looked away and found herself looking towards Irvine and Seifer. Kowadaki was staring at her like she was some kind of freak, but shook off that look momentarily. In their terms, Marianne was sort of a freak, in knowing things that they didn't. Overall, she really wasn't.

Having enough of this eeriness, Squall had remembered about the nasty mixture of the T-Rexaur's and NORG's blood on his weapon. He walked past Selphie's bed, from the opposite side of where Quistis and Zell were standing. "Where are you going Squall?" Trepe asked whom she taught him all she knew. Squall didn't look at her and continued walking, mumbling, "To clean my gunblade."

Eventually, mostly everyone was forced to leave by Kowadaki so Marianne could at least relax. The good doctor had gone to resume to privately do her paperwork in the back of the Infirmary. She asked Zell to stay, because she knew that he knew she wanted to see her parents so badly. That Zell could relate to her if his own foster parent were under the control of an evil sorceress while stuck in another world or dimension. Dincht, for once, had surprised her and Seifer. Even himself. Since when did he sacrifice his urges to try and grab a hot dog or possibly more at the cafeteria.

Bahamut could just feel her mind cry for her mother and father. As her life partner, he decided to take a parental role to help her cope. _"Marianne, I understand that this is becoming so hard in coping, but know that you are not to be alone in dealing with this. And 'God' is with you. If you just have faith, all of Earth will be saved." _

Seifer decided to stay behind, even though he was doing just fine. Sure the burns still bothered him a little bit, but it wasn't that big a deal. Dincht had let go of her hand and rested it on her shoulder, rubbing it. Almasy was comforting Marianne too. It seemed that it was going to be a while until Selphie would awaken. She was probably exhausted after all that summoning with her Guardian Force, Ifrit.

__

Damn it all to hell. This is just all fucked, Zell thought to himself, much to Shiva's dismay. She didn't feel the need to say anything though. "Yo, you hungry or somethin'? You really haven't eaten anything all day, after you tried having something this morning," Zell offered, caringly caressing the left side of Marianne's face with his fingers. The mention of eating had caused her stomach to rumble. She didn't feel like it.

"Just have at least one little snack," Bahamut pleaded. _"I understand that you aren't feeling up to it, but just have some food. It's better than not having any." _A sigh escaped from the wise one and she felt it spread throughout her head. He didn't want to have to be a "nagging parent." He didn't like pleading either, but he felt that even if he was forced to nag at her on the subject of eating, she wouldn't listen to him anyway. To him, this was a challenge or a test that Mother Hyne had given to one of her eldest children. And he accepted the challenge like the riddle telling, mighty dragon he was. He was determined to succeed in helping Marianne cope with her issues. And he actually wanted to be her friend. From the moments they shared as one, in battle, and on the way to Balamb Garden, Bahamut sensed an ordeal of friendship from Marianne, and she wasn't irritating him either.

Marianne let out a sigh, giving into Bahamut's advice. "Okay…grab me a hot dog while you're at the cafeteria, alright?" Zell nodded and winked. "Alright, I'll be back soon." Then he bounded out of the Infirmary to get to the cafeteria as fast as he could before the hotdogs were all gone.

****

But the storms of weather, you know they don't seem to be as bad

If you think there's hope from here and there's a life you should now have…

Seifer turned his gelled blonde haired head slowly to look out the window. The rain had stopped, but the sun was now setting. A rather golden color had flooded the sky now as he turned to back to Marianne, who was rather looking up to him with red and puffed up eyes. He frowned in looking upon her. He still saw that glimpse of terror in those innocent eyes he had seen ever since they first met. It slightly freaked him out. Never in his life has he dealt with someone so afraid. It caused him to feed off her fear, but no matter what happens, he made sure to protect her and help her cope with her losses. In his eyes, she was a friend. "How's your head?" Almasy asked because he was silently recalling the recent memory of NORG attacking Marianne with his damned psycho blasts. "It still hurts," she replied softly, and looked around the bed for a control device or remote to move the bed up some. There wasn't any.

She let go of the cloth she used to soothe the irritation on her bandaged up leg and used both arms to sit up. "No, you're not getting out of this bed," Seifer warned her. "I know, I just want to sit up. Relax," Marianne countered as Seifer helped by grabbing the two large pillows and put them up to be against the wall for Marianne to rest against comfortably. Marianne slowly scooted a little bit to sit up against the set up. "Thanks," she uttered to him, grateful for his company. "Again…" "Yeah," Seifer responded, patting her shoulder. His look was serious again. "I don't think I'll be reckless again," he heard her say as the leftover tears had made clear lines on her cheeks. "I know," he said. "What happened there was really scary," Marianne commented, almost feeling chills just thinking about that encounter with NORG.

"So, how long do you think I'm gonna be here?" she asked Seifer. With a shrug of his slightly muscular shoulders, he thought of an estimation. "Oh, maybe a few days to a week or so." She moaned unsatisfactorily. "Yeah, it sucks I know," he sympathized. "But I'll promise to come and visit, if that help in coping with it." Marianne leaned over and hugged him, for he was being a good friend. "Thanks." Seifer hugged back, a blank expression on his features. Still not used to this kind of thing, but soon he would be. He had a feeling that she was going to be around for a while. But then, if she went to Earth, if possible, what would become of him and those he knew in Gala…?

** **

Finishing Statement from the Author: Well folks, that's chapter 12. It'll take me another week or so to do chapters 13 and 14. Keep the reviews coming. I'm happy in getting such awesome feedback!


	13. Unwanted Promotion

****

Hey all, the next chapter is here! Sorry about the wait, but I've had a lack of inspiration last week to get this done faster. Thanks to those who've continued to review.

Lyrics used: "The Unforgiven" by Metallica, off their black album. And this song reminds me so much of Squall being…Squall! And as always in each chapter, my lyrical choice fits PERFECTLY!

Chapter 13: Unwanted Promotion

****

A new blood joins this earth

And quickly he's subdued

Through constant pained disgrace

The young boy learns their rules…

The aloof young man walked calmly through the lobby to the boys' dormitory. Leonhart was relieved to find that there was nobody to run up to him and ask about the SeeD missions he has been through. He knew of some people that would do otherwise, and he wouldn't feel up to it at all.

His black boots clomped along the shiny, polished floor. It was a duty of all of Balamb Garden's residents to keep the facility spick and span. Holding out his Revolver gunblade, holding it to his side, he was in luck since none of the blood mixture that stained the blade's once clean surface wasn't causing any spills on the floor he walked upon.

As he continued to walk, Squall was pretty much alone to his thoughts again. _What about Odine? How is he able to help Marianne?_ He focused the question towards Quezacotl, since he seemed to be knowing quite a few things he didn't about the Earth girl. _"I wish I knew for sure, but I know that he's able to trace the energy in which a specific person's magic was used. Maybe upon in finding the energy where Edea last used her dark magic, he'd use it to come up with something._"

It seemed to be a good theory as he was looking towards the entry way inching closer and closer as he endlessly walked to the destination. The floor in the entry way had a painted wide blue and long line. From observing, it was only painted a over a few years ago because the paint itself was starting to chip off a bit, and the color wasn't as fresh and bright. Well, as long as the sign remained, Squall would never have to worry about getting lost. When he first entered to Balamb Garden by the age of thirteen, oh yeah. He got lost quite a number of times. But after getting used to the size of this place, he could probably find every specific nook and cranny of Garden blindfolded!

What he never did was interact with others much. And most students pretty much stayed away from him. From the cold and fierce hawk gaze out of his blue grey eyes, they knew he didn't want to make friends. And Leonhart had made it his method to avoid anyone. He never had to say a word. Leonhart found it shameful whenever he observed other people interacting. Laughing, crying, or just chit chatting amongst themselves, the same burning question lingered in his mind. Why do people depend on each other? Ever since Ellone has "left" him, having a friend would be against his way of the emotionally controlled conduct he's forced upon himself. And after so much pushing on that over the years, he had grown pretty accustomed to it.

****

With time, the child draws in

This whipping boy done wrong

Deprived of all his thoughts

The young man struggles on and on he's known

A vow onto his own. That never from this day

His will they'll take away…

From way behind him, Squall could hear faint sounds of footsteps. He turned towards the sound to find Zell just exiting the cafeteria. "Hey Squall!" Zell nodded, flashing him a friendly smile and couldn't wave a hello, because his hands were full. In one arm, he held three soda cans protectively close to his chest. The other hand was carrying what looked like to be some kind of food, wrapped up to prevent spills on the floors of course. Squall glanced at him blankly, not returning the friendly face. Dincht looked a bit concerned, then shook it off in a few seconds in realizing he was to carry the food over to eat with Marianne and Seifer in the Infirmary.

Without further interruptions, Squall entered his dorm. There was a long metal desk to the far wall and window ahead. The shade of blue paint on the walls seemed to blend in with Squall's persona as he walked up and placed his gunblade on the desk, moving his magazine pile temporarily off and set them down on his bed. There was a container of wipes on top of the sink in the mini bathroom. He went and took them, just after slowly pulling off his leather gloves. The ring on one of his hands was now visible for him to see, but he dully looked at. Rarely he would make more than just a moment's glance on his mother's ring. Hell, he never knew her anyway. She died sometime during his infancy. He was only told by somebody when he was a kid…but he had forgotten who that somebody was. Zell one time asked about the ring, but only got a look in response that said, "Mind your own damn business."

****

What I've felt, what I've known

Never shined through in what I've shown

Never be, never see

Won't see what might have been…

Slowly and delicately, Squall used a few of the wipes to get rid of the red T-Rexaur blood and NORG's yellow slime for blood off of the blade. He wasn't grossed out, but just found it soothing to clean his weapon. It was as if his only "friend" was his gunblade. It wasn't a real friend, but Leonhart somehow must've considered it to be a friend. He never talked to it, and never intended to because he was definitely smart enough to know that objects cannot talk. And the best part about his "friend" was that it never spoke a word, but got the job done when he wanted it to. Unlike people, this beauty of a weapon was cold and emotionless as he was. Ah yes, Squall's gunblade was his "best friend" of his entire existence.

When he was sure that he cleaned the metal of the smallest stain, he went back into the bathroom, taking the dirty wipes and closed container with him. He flushed the mess down the toilet and placed the container back on top of the sink. With soap and cold water, Leonhart washed the leftover blood off his hands. Bloodshed. He hated it. Over and over throughout his life, he's pondered about violence in general. Why bother? Violence was only to cause more violence. Would Gala ever be fully justified? And now, in discovering his own home, himself, and those he's recognized as a form of entertainment on Earth, the violence was never going to stop. Did Earth find violence entertaining? What kind of sick world did Marianne come from?

****

What I've felt, what I've known

Never shined through in what I've shown

Never free, never me

So I dub thee unforgiven…

Squall thought about Marianne and Earth all in one setting as he laid down on his bed. A part of him was just tired, while the other was hungry. He's had very little to eat. But overall, he was worn out. He flopped down hard on his bed without even thinking about it, causing the stash of mostly Weapons Monthly and a few Timber Maniacs magazines to slide off the mattress and onto the floor. Squall didn't bother picking up then. His youthful and strong body just begged and begged to have a break after hours and hours of fighting and traveling.

Leonhart could never relax. He had more questions to ask his Guardian Force about. Making assumptions of things was usually something Squall didn't like to do. He only assumed when there was no other option.

With every thought that formed in his mind, it caused Squall to turn over. It was as if he had no peace at all. The thoughts were crowding together. If a single thought were a person, then there was a massive crowd just speaking all at once from inside his brain. _Is Earth violent as Gala? Is there a place in her world that is peaceful? Do they ever sleep?_ It was driving him nearly to delirium and he wanted the questions answered as soon as possible, if not right now.

Quezacotl didn't want to give all the answers away, but the bird felt he could settle down some of the crowded thoughts. And so he picked out the thoughts one by one and was cautious about it. If he revealed too much about Marianne and her world, his secret plan of using her to open Squall up would be a disaster. _"Earth is not as violent and sick hearted as you think. Squall, why do humans write fantasy novels? Why does entertainment overall exist?" _The question was just too simple to answer, and Squall seemed to be getting the point. _Entertainment's used as a form to escape from reality…_ _"Remember what Marianne has explained from the previous night?"_ Quezacotl offered. _"Earth does not know that this world really exists." So, to the rest of her world, I'm seen as some fictional character?_ Squall pondered. He didn't have to think too much on that single detail. _I'm someone that's just…made up out of someone's imagination? I came…out of thin air?_

Before his private thoughts could even come close to drive him off to the edge of insanity, a voice blared off from the intercoms, located all around Balamb Garden's interior. "Squall Leonhart. This is Cid. Please report to my office as soon as possible." Slowly, Squall sat up on his bed. _Can't I just take a break for once?! What now?_ he thought angrily to himself as he trudged out the door…

At the cafeteria, there was quite a lot of chit chat. Quistis and Irvine had to guess that a number of the students were talking about what happened with Selphie. They didn't know about the other two people that were in the Infirmary.

They sat across from each other at the table, alone. A bunch of Trepies, were bugging Quistis all the way to the table, but Irvine told them off. It was rather embarrassing for the former instructor. Everywhere she had to go, there were those certain girls wanting to be like her. And there were those certain boys who wanted to go out with her, most of them being too young for her age. And Kinneas got a bunch of glares of death, them thinking this stranger was going to take her away from them to be her _boyfriend_ or something.

There was a bit of a hassle in going to the cafeteria. Kinneas had to hand over his gun to one of the lunch ladies because it was prohibited to bring weapons into the cafeteria. Also prohibited to use magic. As long as the cowboy gets his rifle back when leaving, he doesn't mind the middle aged woman in the hairnet holding onto his rifle for a while. Of course, in between leaving the Infirmary and going to have some dinner, Quistis went to her old dorm room and put away her chain whip. Before the incident with Seifer breaking out of Garden, she was off to get her weapon modified in Balamb.

There were both serious looks on Trepe's and Kinneas's faces in sitting across from each other, eating their dinner. This was not the time for dating, and Irvine knew that. And, from looking at this petite young woman, he would think she would want to be his in some place more private, let alone a tour of the entire Garden being a first date. Quistis mostly felt sad and sympathetic for Marianne. She was hurt, and scared. Far from home. "Miss Trepe?" Irvine addressed the golden blonde. "You alright ma'mm?" She looked up at the long red haired man in black cowboy hat, smiling a little. "Please, call me Quistis," she gently insisted, and her look changed back into sadness.

After a pause, she finally admitted to it. Most of her life, she would be able to come up with solutions to just about any problem. Marianne's was very difficult, and never in Gala has this happened before. "…I don't know what else to come up with. Irvine," she addressed him. His eyes never left in looking upon her face. "Tell me, do you think anything in Esthar would be able to help her?" _Her, as in you know who… _Irvine knew what she meant. "Well, it's worth a try, right? That's all that matters," he confided to her, while poking his fork into some green beans on his tray. "As long as hope remains in our hearts…" Trepe slowly nodded. "You're right… You're right," she said, tone of voice getting softer and sadder by the moment.

In the middle of their silent dinner, they heard quite a stir up from behind them. They turned their heads to see none other than Zell Dincht, cutting in line to get up all the way to the front. The spiky blonde bumped into people and their trays along the way, politely saying an "excuse me" or "pardon me." Irvine squinted his face as Zell was being a klutz and caused one of the junior classmen to drop her tray. "Watch where you're going, you moron!" the brunette scowled at him. Zell offered to help, but the young lady held up her hand. And that mean look on her face wasn't too friendly at all. _Was he always this clumsy?_ Kinneas asked himself as he found himself smiling upon the matter. Dincht walked passed the person on the ground who was cleaning up and continued to journey to the front of the line.

What Quistis and Irvine didn't know was the much more selfless reason behind Zell'sactions. Ever since the age of ten, they knew that boy was crazy about those Balamb brand hotdogs. Well, with their hearts a little lighter from watching Dincht, they ate the rest of their meals in silence…

****

They dedicate their lives to running all of his

He tries to please them all, this bitter man he is…

On the top floor, behind the two large wooden doors with a painted gold fancy border that even a T-Rexaur could go through, there sat Cid Kramer. Littered on the top of his desk where used tissues in drying his own tears and blowing his nose. For those five minutes the Headmaster had spared for himself, he had been weeping bitterly. For months he's missed his wife so much. And now he's just learned about where Edea was, and what she had done.

A light knock on the doors in front of Cid assumed that it would be either Xu or Squall to come in. In wiping the last of his tears, the man managed to establish his voice to stable tone. "Come in," he said, and began to clean up the mess he made. For any of the youths to come in while Cid had made a mess, was embarrassing for him.

The knob turned as Squall poked his head into the door. Respectfully, he had pushed all of his attempts to the side in telling Kramer off to leave him alone. "You wanted to see me sir?" he addressed to him. Squall had caught Cid picking up the last of the tissues on his desk. "Yes, yes… Come in." Kramer said in a rather welcome manner. With that, Leonhart stepped into Kramer's office, quietly closing the door behind him. He took a seat in one of the black cushioned chairs facing the large, polished dark oak desk. His still rather exhausted body was satisfied in sitting rather than just standing like he'd normally do, hoping that the talks with the Headmaster would end quickly.

"Are you alright sir?" Squall politely questioned. Cid smiled through his urge to shed more tears. The two shared respect of each other. Cid respected Squall for how he was and how he grew up pretty much. Leonhart respected this Garden's Headmaster for holding this facility and offering the opportunities to help him build up a career as a SeeD. In Balamb Garden, there were very few people that Squall had respect for. And was Marianne one of them? He supposed so, because he understood Marianne's story and did like she persisted to him and the others from the night before. He didn't blame her upon anything. It was all Edea's fault for bringing her over to Gala for them to know the truth.

Unable to hide his tears for long, Kramer took off his glasses off for a moment and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he was confirming the choice that he had thought about, dealing with Squall. "As you can see, I am in an emotional mess currently," Cid began, while Leonhart said nothing, but remained attentive. Putting his glasses back on, the Headmaster looked at one of his most devoted students, whom he had treated like a favorite son. "I'm going to have to promote your rank to SeeD Commander."

__

…What? Squall mentally questioned. "I cannot do this alone, and I need your help in keeping things together, and to prepare the others for what is as stake," Kramer explained to him. Squall looked rather horrified and shook his head rapidly. _No…no… NO WAY am I ready or have the intentions of being Commander!_ "You are the best choice here. There is no one else that I can choose to depend upon." Cid insisted a little firmly. "I apologize if this seems so sudden, but I have no other options."

"But I'm sure there's someone else that can do the job. Why not Quistis? She's done quite well as an instructor. Or what about Xu? Or-" "Squall," Kramer cut Leonhart off. "You were born to do this. …You're a natural born leader, Squall." "But can't you see that I have enough problems of my own?!" Cid's chosen Commander pressed. "I can't do this leader…" He trailed off and stopped himself from cursing as watched Cid walk to the large intercom device located behind the office desk, to the left.

****

Throughout his life the same

He's battled constantly

This fight he cannot win…

__

So that's it? Squall fumed inside as the Headmaster began pressing buttons to create a friendly jingle to let the entire Garden that an announcement was about to be made. _I can't even think for my own anymore?_ he continued mulling to himself as Cid began to proclaim his decision for all in Balamb Garden to know about.

"Good evening," the Headmaster began. "I hope everyone has enjoyed the dinner the caterers have worked so hard in preparing. This is Headmaster Cid of course. As you may or may not have noticed from before, there has been some rather unfortunate events. Things seemed to have gone a little out of hand in the Training Center and in the basement, but Squall and a team of others, including Seifer in returning here, have handled it…"

"Marianne…before Zell comes back into this room… You must promise me do never start that shit again. I…kind of appreciate what you've done for me, really, but you didn't have to," Seifer had confided to his new ally and friend. In these few minutes, Marianne and Seifer's bond of friendship was starting to grow. "Okay, but you must promise me something too," Marianne replied, letting the rest of her tears of terror make their leave. Almasy was all ears. "Don't let me go reckless again… I know what I did was just really not fully planned out and stupid, but I had to." "Yeah, I understand that, but in the future? Let's not do that again." Seifer said in forming an agreement. She nodded, completely understanding.

When Almasy found that he had found closure from this crazy stunt that Marianne had taken, he turned to the black backpack that was full of her CDs. He looked from there to the round CD player that Fujin had set down on the small table behind from where he was sitting. Shortly, he found a socket in the wall and plugged the device in. Marianne was observing, and had asked, "What are you doing?" Seifer looked at her with his trademark look. His own smug smirk. "What? Am I not allowed?" he mockingly scoffed. The look and inside joke caused her to let out a few snickers. "I was just asking," Marianne said. A smile was starting to form on her pinkish red lips. "Well, is it okay with you if I played one of your 'CDs'…as you call them?" Of course, she could not object to the cool Seifer Almasy, who had the same kind of smile she had. Besides, music was a major part of her life and considered it to be what she was most passionate about. "Sure, okay," she said, feeling a little easygoing about it.

"How do you turn this damn thing on…? Oh," Seifer muttered in finding the on switch, located on the right side. With a little tug, there was a little sound, indicating that the device was turned on. There now two red dashes shown somewhere in the front. "Okay, now what? Get a CD?" Almasy guessed as he pulled the book bag by one of its straps towards him. "Yup," Marianne simply said with a smile. _Heh heh, this is amusing,_ Marianne thought to herself. _Bahamut, I still can't believe that Gala has not invented the CD, ever…_ Bahamut sensed her giggling and inwardly smiled. His life partner was feeling better, thanks to Seifer. And there seemed to be the other presence that she had forgotten about. Leviathan had found this out too. And so the Water Guardian finally decided to speak after all that time she had been awake. _"I'm still surprised that Earth even exists."_ This made her jump slightly in where she was sitting up. And her head pains were still bothering her, but only a slight notch.

Seifer seemed to have noticed this. Her face instantly changed from a smile to a look of surprise. "Bahamut?" she said out loud, sharing with Seifer in what the hell was going on. "Do you have a cold or something?" From the tone of her voice and thoughts all together, this caused the dragon king to laugh lightly in her head. True, Leviathan did sort of sound like him, with an illness that made him to be losing his voice. _"No, I am fine,"_ he assured her, managing to regain the seriousness of the situation. Marianne and Bahamut altogether felt the slightly annoyed feeling from the another presence. Seifer at first didn't understand, but then he remembered about Leviathan. "Marianne, do you remember…?" he began as she was one step ahead of him.

"Oh God, I forgot…I drew out Leviathan. …And he's still inside of me." Marianne said, a bit overwhelmed knowing that there were now at least two voices in her head. Could Edea's/Ultimecia's connection with her be the third voice? By that time, Zell had come in, right in the middle of all this.

__

"It doesn't take a genius to figure that out, but I forgive you without any offense," the water spirit said, indeed calm about this now. "Yo, what's up? I'm back," Dincht said, not noticing the looks on their faces for a second. As he was pulling up a chair on wheels from Dr. Kowadaki's desk, he froze. "So, what are you going to do about Leviathan, Marianne?" Seifer asked towards the one sitting up in a hospital bed. "…Leviathan?" Zell quirked. "Marianne has Leviathan?! …How?" "She drew him out of NORG, that big ugly Shumi," Seifer retorted, voice enforcing negative emotions towards NORG, who hurt Marianne in the first place with that damned psycho blast.

Marianne's heart was racing as she began to apologize to the other Guardian Force besides Bahamut. _Okay, well that's cool… Uh…_ She looked to Seifer, and an idea was instantly forming inside of her brain. The immortals inside could feel it. Before she could ask, Bahamut had told her the answer. _"No, I sense no life partner in Seifer. Are you suggesting in lending Leviathan to him?" _

"Marianne, are you ok?" Seifer asked her in concern. "Yeah, yeah…" she said, slowly drawing her attention towards him. "Look, I feel like I owe you again, so I feel that you should have Leviathan," she explained to him. She shook her head, smiling again, but her voice told Zell and Seifer "And I think one Guardian's enough for me. I don't think I could handle more than enough voices in my head. I already started with two." _"If that's what you wish, and I am in your debt for rescuing me from the hideous NORG, I'll do it,"_ Leviathan offered and awaited for the decision. Marianne nodded to this and told Seifer, "I want you to have Leviathan. Is that okay with you?" Seifer was taken back by the offer. She was offering him a _GF_, one that he originally had to earn but had failed in the previous years of flunking the Guardian Force written test. And it was something she requested of him. After all she has done for Almasy, as well as accepting him as a friend, he felt he had no choice but to take the offer. "Yeah, it's fine with me," Almasy said. _"_

"Are you sure this is what you want, Marianne? This is your last chance. Not that I don't wish to leave, but in case you have any second thoughts…" offered Leviathan. _No,_ she responded almost automatically. _I think Bahamut is enough Guardian Force for me to have and handle. And I still have that mental connection with…_ _"The sorceress… Yes, I can feel her connection as well," _ Leviathan spoke and in feeling through the youth's mind, he could sense that she was pretty sure that she didn't want a third presence. And this was her donation to Seifer in return from rescuing her a second time, ever. _"Very well. I shall prepare to be transferred. Brother Bahamut, you know what to do,"_ said the Guardian of Water and fell silent. The dragon king privately bid farewell to his brother Guardian force and then turned to his life partner. _"Alright Marianne, I need you to follow my instructions for the Guardian transfer." Ok,_ Marianne said, willing to do as she's told and was calm in knowing in feeling through Bahamut's calmness that nothing bad or dangerous was going to happen.

__

"I want you to relax yourself Marianne, for I am to put you in a calm state, in complete relaxation. There will be no pain, but I need you to be still and relaxed for Leviathan to transport from you to Seifer Almasy. Understand?" _Got it,_ Marianne replied to him, calm and collective. And there were no questions. _"Good. Now sit all the way back on the bed…"_ Marianne did so, slowly resting he head on the pillows that her back was pressing up against the wall. Zell and Seifer didn't ask Marianne anything, because they were taught about the process of GF transferring in their classes on the second floor within Balamb Garden.

__

"Good, now I want you to close your eyes." In looking through Marianne's eyes, he watched and felt her eyelids slowly close together as if she were about to take a nap. _"Now, don't sleep. I need you to stay awake for this, or else all of us will be asleep and there will be no Guardian Force transfer…" Okay…_ Marianne said to let her Guardian friend know she understood. _"Good. Now… I want you to imagine us someplace outdoors. A beach. Yes, a beach. I want you to feel your hands rest upon the sand…" _With a little effort, Marianne began to pretend she was on a beach with Bahamut while going under his hypnosis technique. Zell and Seifer watched and waited patiently, because they were told that this process could take up a little time.

"Feel the nice, cool breeze on your face… Relax, let your fingers touch the sand…" Bahamut made sure to be relaxed and very calm for Marianne to do the same. He felt her relax, and felt her mind create that special place that Bahamut had just described for her. Leviathan felt it was time to take his leave, and slowly the two could feel her mind slightly light headed. Bahamut kept the hypnosis up as the transporting process was starting.

As for Almasy, he couldn't feel a thing. It was until Bahamut had let her know that Leviathan was in him. As Seifer began to notice Marianne's eyes open, he searched for Leviathan. _"Yes, I am here Seifer. It's a pleasure to be your life partner from this day forth." Cool,_ Seifer said, calmness feeding off of Marianne in what she had just been through. And then a jingle rang throughout Garden. Zell placed the food and drinks down on the table where Marianne's CD player was and listened attentively with the other two.

"Good evening… I hope everyone has enjoyed the dinner the caterers have worked so hard in preparing." A male voice blared on the intercom. "This is Headmaster Cid of course. As you may or may not have noticed from before, there has been some rather unfortunate events. Things seemed to have gone a little out of hand in the Training Center and in the basement, but Squall and a team of others, including Seifer in returning here, have handled it. Some of you may be concerned about Ms. Selphie Timlitt in the lobby, but she is just resting right now. She'll be fine. …And there is someone new here to Garden. Well…to this entire planet of Gala actually…"

From that moment, a part of her was tense. Bahamut assured, _"It's alright. The Headmaster knows what he's doing. …Let's eat."_ Marianne nodded to this and quietly asked Zell to pass over whatever it is she was to have for her dinner. Her first dinner in Gala.

"Her name is Marianne, from another world called Earth, and something rather awful has happened. I've been told by Squall and the others that she has told him that the sorceress from Deling City has used her magic to switch places with her. Please keep in mind that Marianne is quite timid and afraid in this slightly different setting. I need all of you to make her feel very welcome to stay here as our guest until we can figure out to stop the sorceress from controlling her home world. For further questions, ask Squall, Quistis, Seifer, Irvine, Selphie (as soon as she awakens), or Zell…"

Marianne had unwrapped a taco. She sort of smiled in amusement upon realizing that Zell was too late to get any hotdogs for that evening and began to eat. Zell was sitting in the chair he wheeled out, eating his taco, and Seifer was eating his while he passed out the sodas.

"And one final announcement. Squall Leonhart has been assigned as SeeD Commander. …You are to treat him with as much respect as you give me." In upon hearing this, Marianne frowned. _So I guess I didn't prevent that…_ she said to herself in thought. _"Destiny can never be avoided,"_ Bahamut said, in giving words as to what he was the Guardian of. As Cid continued talking about Squall as Commander and about the probably suspicious Galbadian army, she had blocked out that portion of Kramer's announcements and just focused on eating. She felt sympathy towards Squall, for she knew that he was given this job no matter what he said and that he hated it…

Back in the office, Squall's mood was nowhere better than what it had been when Cid first told him he was to be the commander. _So I don't have a say in this?! My life is just planned out for me?!_ he fumed to himself. Quezacotl was trying his best to calm his life partner down. _"Squall, you are a natural born leader. And you are at the top of the rest of your classmates. I understand how you feel, but this is your true destiny, and you've got to accept that."_ The effort didn't calm him down at all. Squall's life as he knew it was taking rather a downfall in upon satisfaction.

****

A tired man they see no longer cares…

The old man then prepares

To die regretfully

That old man here is me…

Leonhart rubbed a finger up and down on the healed scar on his face, for it was starting to itch within his intense amount of anger, frustration, and irritation. Fine, he was to accept this job he had been given, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He would have a harder time in all means to avoid people and interaction with him, but he had to do whatever was necessary to keep them safe. Overall, Squall didn't want to be a hero, and never had the intentions to be one. His own plans for his life were shattered, but started to mend in and build up within Cid Kramer's requests.

****

What I've felt, what I've known

Never shined through in what I've shown

Never be, never see

Won't see what might have been

What I've felt, what I've known

Never shined through in what I've shown

Never free, never me

So I dub thee unforgiven…

"Squall, would you like to say something on behalf of Garden? You know, to give them confidence?" Kramer asked. Leonhart scowled at him, to mean a definite "no." No way, no how was he going to make a speech. He would only just do his damn job. As long as there was shelter, money for his needs, and food to eat, Squall would do his assigned duties as Commander. And a Commander only had to be active at times of war and life and death situations, right? So that meant there was some freedom involved. _Hey, no problem Headmaster. Dish out all the shit you have set up for me, as long as I can have my needs and freedom,_ he mentally told Cid through his angry as hell expression.

Cid rather frowned upon Squall's reactions, and watched as he left the Headmaster's office without being told he was dismissed. That proved to show how angry and displeased he was of Kramer's decision. But there was no turning their backs on Destiny. In time, Cid knew that his most and only reliable student would accept his destiny and lead Garden to the best paths as Commander.

The elevator doors closed after Squall pressed the button to go down to the first floor. His next destination: back to his dorm. He wasn't so hungry anymore, and rather tired. He would sleep off his irritation and worry about it later. That's what he sometimes did to solve problems, rather than turn to someone about it. At this time, it was a definite occasion to be resting away his problems, and to rest his aching bones as well. _Fuckin' hypocrite, _Squall grumpily mulled to himself, referring to the Headmaster. He would remain this way until he closed his eyes and sleep on his bed in the dorms.

****

You labeled me. I'll label you.

So I dub thee unforgiven…


	14. Identification Unknown

****

Hey, finally got another chapter done! For over a week I was sick, ugh. That's why it's taken a while to finish this chapter. Oh, and I DO hope you are checking my profile for news and updates on this fic. I try to update once a week. Anyway, on with the story! I hope you find the new characters interesting! I know I do…

Lyrics used: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica, off their Ride the Lightning album.

Chapter 14: Identification Unknown

****

Make his fight on the hill in the early day

Constant chill deep inside…

While Marianne was safe within the mostly steel structure of Balamb Garden, there was quite a lot of activity going on within Deling City, in which she had helped her new found friends flee from.

Wedge and Biggs had made Deling City their home base, while the troops were given orders to split up into squads of three to five men each. Two of them being blockades. No one was to come in or out of this city. Recently after Squall and company had left, there was quarreling between a few Galbadian soldiers and a partially bald man in a grey suit and tie. "But my _JOB_ is all the way to the northeast of here, in Trabia!" he said in a fit. He looked so angry that one of the few men in uniform was sure he was going to pop a vein in his head.

"Can't you just let me through?!" "To make it crystal clear to you, " began a lower rank soldier in uniform. For every two or three soldiers, there had to be an elite soldier to keep them in line and make sure they're doing their job. If otherwise, there would be severe consequences. The one in red watched closely as the patrolman continued his speech. "Our orders were given to make sure no one LEAVES or ENTERS this city." Another soldier joined in to help, being the calmer one of the situation. "It's for your own safety and for the good of this country… Whoever captured Sorceress Edea has to be very dangerous." "I understand and trust you guys to take care of it," said the skinny man in the suit.

What was he going to do? Fight his way through?! If he tried, the soldiers would simply arrest him and confine him in the D-District Prison in the desert nearby the town of Dollet. Well, there was one benefit to all of this. The civilian could always spend more time with his wife and children…

"And the walls within Trabia Garden are very safe. I appreciate your concern for my safety, really," he said, trying to form some kind of negotiation. "We're just doing all we can to keep our fellow citizens out of harm's way," said the elite rank, not making it any easy on the middle aged Trabian instructor. "I'm sorry, but you have to stay here." he concluded, causing the man to sigh heavily in frustration and the small patrol squad watched him storm off away from them down the street…

In the fields outside of Deling City, there were a few more small squads from the Galbadian Army. Three of the best patrollers one side, and randomly picked five to be obligated to watch on the other side for anything. For being temporary dictators, Wedge and Biggs were doing a very good job. They meant serious business, and the rest of the hundreds of soldiers were clueless on what to do. Their original leader was missing somehow, and whoever managed to abduct her was very clever to do so. He or she, like one of the Deling City blockades have said, had to be very dangerous.

"Charlie," a young low ranked soldier called to one of his colleagues. "It must have been quite a mess at Deling's Gate last night." The man who he was talking to nodded. He looked rather tired and grim, as if he hadn't slept at all. "Those Iguion things, or whatever they're called," the man named Charlie said in mid yawn. "Had been crushed by the cement and steel of the structure…" His face squinted into an agonizing look of disgust. What a mess it was by the gate's remains, in the streets! The monsters' blood was spilled out everywhere, seeping out from the broken, once hard and strong cement. The poorly treated, degraded feeling man nearly gagged on the stench, but luckily tied on a piece of cloth around his head, covering the lower half of his nose and entire mouth to help filter the air he breathed. The rain that had begun to endlessly pour had helped in washing up the blood. "Yeah, those were Iguions," corrected the younger man.

Cole Jackson then fell silent and listened to the rest of his story. A teenager at sixteen, almost the same age as Squall Leonhart of Balamb, was very loyal and intelligent for a low ranked soldier. For someone so young, he could be close to getting a small promotion from being treated like cattle like the other lowest rankers. Those were the ones that were just ordered to do what they were told no matter what was going on.

His chestnut brown hair was covered by his metallic grey helmet. Like the other helmets worn, there were also a few rubies on the front for decoration. His darker brown eyes showed courtesy towards the other soldiers around him. He was rather slim, but was strong enough to carry his anything that weighed as much as him. Pretty much, that was his typical job, doing labor.

This field job was something a little different. He just had to use his eyes, and not his arms and physical strength this time. Not that he missed it, but always remained positive on what he was told to do by the higher ranks of the army. Cole told himself that in whatever it was he had to do, it was best for his country, Galbadia. Nobody and nothing seemed to change the way he felt over his services.

"And…" continued Charlie, pausing to yawn again. He was _real_ tired. "…There was red blood all over the place. In short, it was a huge, stinking mess…" He found himself scratching his neck before saying the next statement. Something odd he was about to recall that didn't just confuse him, but his co-workers as well. "Y'know Cole, while cleaning up the rock, there were some of the boulders set up in a line. Some kind of freak within Deling must have a load of free time on his hands…" The elite member of the three person squad looked at him, gray eyes that looked just as serious as Charlie's. "There were some young people down there," the elite said. The tone of his voice caused the lower and less bright soldier feel that he was not of any importance. Like the green grass under their feet.

The higher rank was known as Ahab Strater. Age: thirty-six. Often sided with Jackson, he had recently stationed the younger low rank as second command in case he wasn't fit to give orders or had to be elsewhere. In his spare time, at the bar, on the fields, or just standing around the "cattle," he had observed Cole. The youth never complained like the other labor workers. He never showed any disrespect. Strater even talked with the boy a few occasions. Such a dedicated young man Cole was. _Young men like him DESERVE to stay here in the army_, he felt. Strong and diligent men like Jackson would go places and get promotions instead of getting the same duties all the damn time. Hell, one of the best might make it to be the next president of Deling City, and having sorcery on your side wasn't even a requirement! Not in Strater's book.

Charlie (formally known as Charles) Etchinson on the other hand didn't say anything or object, because he knew he wasn't the leader type. This man was never to be promoted. Wedge, Biggs, and other elites had told him this, and he believed them. Like Cole, he never complained about being a labor worker. But in the beginning, the way he acted was similar to Seifer Almasy. If only the two knew each other. Instead of just being pushed around and being treated not much like an equal, Charlie would have made it to Balamb Garden's Disciplinary Committee for sure. And if he would have been the same age… Charlie was age twenty six, while Seifer was eighteen. Yes, like Almasy had been, he also had problems with authority.

Etchinson was his own man in charge when he first joined the Galbadian Army. His attitude was something the higher ranks didn't like. The lower ranks had common thoughts. A pain in their asses. Lieutenant Vicktar Lionel, the elite who radioed Charlie by the given codename, was the one who originally began to call him by that name. If "Brick Sack" got out of line, Lionel would be the one to handle him. This elite knew how to take down runts like Etchinson. Adapting to the codename, the majority of the elites would call him by his given codename rather than his real name. The result had made Charlie's cocky behavior vanish. Lionel had caused his self esteem to decrease over those long months he's served in the army.

He took off his helmet for a moment, for the other two to see his short curly red hair. The white's of Charlie's lime green eyes were red due to lack of sleep. After wiping some of the sweat off his forehead, leftover from his last obligation, with one of the sleeves of his uniform, he placed his helmet back on. "Youths, sir?" Cole quirked to Ahab. The elite's stare softened, in contrast to the cold and dull one he gave to Etchinson. He knew the lower ranks often weren't told of anything. Almost felt sorry for the kid. "Yeah, one of them had been trapped within those rocks, according to what I've heard. Can't really know for sure. It could possibly be a rumor." Lionel wasn't around directly at the same place and same time as Strater, but the memory of that night's talk among the other elites have stirred within his tired consciousness. "There might have been a few casualties between the intersection and the gate for all I know…"

"It must have been true," Cole elaborated, figuring out between the two sides of his comrades' stories. He wasn't too smart for his own good, but had often looked in using his own common sense. No one in their right mind would have gone out in the middle of the night during or after the Iguion attacks to set a few of the rocks in a straight line. "And there was more than one person, correct?" His squad leader patted him on the shoulder in encouragement and slight friendship. Shaking his head, he laughed, "Give us a break, Jackson. We've been up and alert all night." Like a father to a son, Ahab had been proud of this bright fellow. Cole revealed a small smile on his face. "I understand sir."

A short amount of silence had spread between the squad. Unlike Jackson, the two older members weren't that talkative. In hopes that he would continue to talk to them to make sure they stayed focused and awake, this wasn't working. The youth made himself not to be of any hassle. If he were, then he could kiss his dreams of getting promoted goodbye.

A few more minutes had passed, but they felt longer. That's the way time usually works, doesn't it? When there's nothing to do, time itself seems to have a mind of its own and just drag on and on, making mankind feel the boredom. When given something to occupy with, time speeds up, making the task unpleasant if there was more than one given to do. Time, the demon of life.

Time's demonic ways have taken advantage of the three standing a round. The sound of gunfire had startled the less awake, followed by yelling. It echoed within a mile radius so all squads outside would hear the ruckus. "What the hell…" Strater cursed, no doubt thinking about the possibility of a low ranker screwing up on the line of duty. Every now and then those sorry excuses for men would make stupid mistakes, one after another. Who hired those idiots anyway?

Cole, using his sense of hearing the best he could, looked off in a direction. "It's coming from the left." Without saying anything, he began to run off in where he believed the sounds were clearest. There was no need for Strater to say, "Let's go investigate," or words similar to that. Ahab was right behind the youth, Charlie one step behind him. Whether it was Strater or the elite in charge of the fumbling squad, someone was going to get yelled at.

****

Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey…

In a short sprint, the supposed bumbling idiots were found, but they weren't alone. Hovering in midair a few feet from the ground were two of Gala's ugly kind. Spawn of Hades. Three batwings stretched and spread out. They were rotating at an unbelievable speed. Around the small grey heads they spun. Small yellow slit eyes appeared to be laughing at what they had picked as prey. Well, one squealed in pain after being shot at, so the wings on the injured Buel moved slightly slower. Three long and bony claws stuck out from the wings that rotated on and on from the each of the creatures. The source of magic came from inside those claws. Up close and personal within Gala, rather than just looking from the outside of a television set, Buels were _not_ to be fooled around with!

Ahab pulled Cole back from helping them and used his other arm to prevent Charlie from doing the same. "Let them handle it," he pressed to them both. Without arguments, the blue uniformed ones obeyed. Following an elite's every command was an important rule of being a low ranker. Besides, it was obvious the Buels had been outnumbered, four to two. So they watched.

The less experienced low ranked, about two of them, had tried casting status effect magic spells to make the air raiders less of a threat. Due to their dismay, whatever spell was being thrown at them didn't seem to affect them by much. Only physical attacks seemed to be doing anything in killing the Buels. The faces on their small, gray, and wrinkly skinned heads showed rather deadly looks. From making a mockery of the Galbadian squad of four, came serious business.

****

On they fight

For they right? Yes, but who's to say?

Rather annoyed of waiting for a feast, the uninjured Buel on the left casted a heavy thunder spell towards the fool with the gun. One of the bony and thin claws pointed at its target and out sprouted electricity. A scream from the human brought satisfaction to them both.

The squad leader had a more powerful gun on his arm, while the attacked one had to carry his automatic weapon. The rest of the group had swords. The already injured Buel was being shot repeatedly as one of the others still standing cured the soldier that had been struck with a Thundaga spell. With another unpleasantly loud cry, the Buel on the right couldn't manage to move its wings anymore. The monster collapsed in a heap of claw and wing onto the wet grass as it continuously stormed around the fight. Cole, Charlie, and the battling group of men whooped and hollered in response, happy to see one of them down.

"Throw a grenade, Carldego! Throw a grenade!" yelled the once injured low ranker as he rose to his feet. The remaining Buel acted like it seemed to understand what the prey was saying and decided to do a physical attack. One of the prey seemed to be fiddling around. A _perfect _opportunity for the airborne demon to attack! Increasing speed more than ever, it flew backwards a bit, and then slammed its claws through the body of the once living man known as Carldego. "Nooooo!!!" shouted his comrade, in outrage and ran up, sword unsheathed. Big mistake. These hellish creatures were built for speedy and swift flights. But nothing is quick as a bullet fired from a gun. The Buel left over learned that in the hard way before attempting a fatal strike on the charging soldier. BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!!! The elite finished it off with his arm machine gun before the attacker could even flinch. Both Buels now had the inability to fly. After ceasing fire, the savior of the group commanded, "Leave them to rot for the scavengers. We're finished here."

And as Strater's group moved on, the one that decided to charge the one Buel head one was being called over. "Gillan, get over here!! On the double!" they heard the elite shout while continuing to go back to their post within the rainy plains.

The sky must have been grey for a reason. Must have been some kind of omen, because the Buels' wailing cries were only going to attract more monsters. Cole had realized this, until he heard the sound of gunfire once again. The high pitched shrieking came to an abrupt halt for a moment, but it was only a few calls to the flapping flock of Thrustaevis, eager enough to fly in the rain to smell and hear a meal. White feathers covered their heads, except the curved downward hooks for beaks. These hideous animals often soared the skies in groups like vultures do, but hunted like eagles or hawks, thrusting down on the prey to stun, and use the opportunity to kill with their talons and the weight of their large and dark violet scaly bodies. A rational explanation for how this species received the name. Their wind based magic also came in handy for a mere distraction. Only a few second distraction was needed.

Apart from their heads and scaly dragon-like bodies, there were the two sets of wings. All the better to make a good, stunning blow upon the prey. With half the speed dive of a peregrine falcon on Earth, little time seems to be available for escape when in sight of a Thrustaevis.

This storm, however, decreased the chances in half of the Thrustaevis flock in making a successful hunt, one after another. Strater, Jackson, Etchinson, and the other three living Galbadians didn't hesitate to run as these mutant birds swooped down upon the flightless Buels, and dead human soldier. In a terrifying mix of screeching bird of prey and monster roar, one of them had landed and the once angered soldier known as Gillan was being pursued. The new group of seven had been forced to act upon instincts. These weaklings might as well be scavengers to them, or possibly more prey. In either way, their meals would have to be protected.

Charlie ran ahead to help the two fleeing soldiers to safety, with Gillan trying to catch up with them. The second group of three altogether felt like they just wanted to go back to Deling City. But no, they were given orders to be the other lookout in the front field area outside of the Galbadian Army's home base.

Cole had seen the fellow low ranker, and had to go help him because the monster was dangerously close to biting his head off like a scissors would cut paper. Ahab and Charlie decided to help. In observation of the last battle, one of the men had been killed, and Gillan appeared to be less experienced. _Never, ever, run carelessly up to a Buel, or else you'd end up sharing Carldego's fate,_ were the thoughts of Gillan's squad leader, then focused on the Thrustaevis that was stalking towards him. A few machine gun bullets taught that fiend a lesson in trying to sneak attack _HIM_.

Jackson had his sword unsheathed the entire time in seeing the Buels and had slashed his adversary's head. The bird screeched very noisily and loud, causing Cole to cover his ears and drop his weapon on to the wet, partial blood stained grass. A red bleeding, diagonal line had appeared on the right side of the Thrustaevis's face. It stung, causing it to become furious. "Dammit Cole!!" shouted Strater, after finishing off the already shot creature that had attempted to sneak attack on the other elite soldier. He aimed quickly and fired. Cole ran out of the way as fast as he could, making sure not to forget his sword. Not enough time. The young, brave, Galbadian hero dived and placed both grey gloved hands over the back of his head as he heard the first few shots of Strater's arm gun. Two Thrustaevis were now dead.

The humans had escaped, seeing that the other five lost focus of them. The smell of blood and the weakening cries of the Buels signaled that it had been time for the flock's breakfast. Their fallen hunting partners would be left behind for other predators or scavengers to feast upon.

Gillan's group had been forced to find another spot to keep watch, meters away from the monsters as Jackson, Strater, and Etchinson went back to theirs. "Are you alright, son?" the head of the trio asked his second in command. In between catching his breath, Cole managed to reply, "Yeah… Yeah, I'm okay."

****

For a hill, men would kill

Why? They do not know!

Stiffened wounds test their pride…

After a long period of time in knowing this boy and getting to know on how dedicated he was, Strater wished he would have a child just like him, but that didn't mean he loved his children any less. He was a father of two beautiful young women who had turned thirteen about a week ago. The Deling City Parade was his treat to make up for missing their birthday in having to be in service to President Deling on security matters during the special event that had turned into a major disaster. Ahab gave risked his very life to save his wife and kids from the two deployed distractions, the Iguions, that terrorized the city while those bastards managed to win and capture their new leader. Bastards! If he only knew what was to happen, he would have stopped it and protect his family and the other civilians of Deling City. The abductors would be in jail by then, possibly to go through trial and have a set date for their execution.

Strater didn't think the youths were the ones to have been behind on the planned crime, or else they would have fled the city. He was sure his two squad members believed the same thing. They were only helping whoever it was that just happened to be by the gate during its collapse. But…why? Where was that civilian trying to go? Was the person's house on the other side? …Well, it was a possibility to him. It was a matter of time before the entire army would know what the hell was going on… ****

For whom the bell tolls…time marches on!

For whom the bell tolls…

Wedge and Biggs meanwhile were checking up on the two elites that were focusing on what the army's suspects looked like. Their home base was chosen to be the largest bank of Deling City, meaning all the people who worked there were unwillingly told to quit what they were doing and go home. It wasn't easy, and for the two current leaders of the hundreds of armed men, these people were dedicated to keeping their civilians accounts safe. And they would be, for now. If there came along a time in which high amounts of Gil were involved, then some trusts would have to be broken and sacrificed.

As for the two elites, one of them was Lt. Lionel. The other, a sketch artist who wanted to be alone with him, because for most artists, it was highly distracting and rude to have a group of people looking over your back while trying to draw something. And this guy was pretty good, for drawing a sketched version of a wanted person's description being told to him. Even President Deling agreed and he was the original man to hire Sketch (his nickname) for the job. So he's been at it for a few months now.

Biggs and Wedge came back into the room that the two had been in for quite a little while. It was considered enough time to finish all the sketches of all seven youths that Lionel had seen on the previous night. As a matter of fact, they had just finished and were chit chatting away about the previous events and today's weather. Lionel had stopped talking first as he heard one of the ones in charge clear his throat. On a desk in the middle of one of the office rooms within the bank, Wedge and Biggs looked over the accurate drawings of the youths Lt. Lionel had met for a short time. The hardest to describe had been the young girl who was shaking and cowering behind the man with the blonde hair and scar on his face. It was a bit dark, but the street light from his side of the alley the youths crossed had helped him see her face, in which was what Sketch wanted in drawing for their leaders.

There were wide eyed looks that had washed over the face of Wedge. Particularly of a few of the sketches. The one of a young man with a tattoo of his face, the young dark haired woman drawing, and finally, the one of a stern looking boy with a diagonally left lined scar on his face. The other light colored hair sketch looked familiar too. Biggs had recognized those four as well. "It's those goddamned SeeDs!" Wedge cursed in anger, slamming a fist on the table, causing Sketch to jerk in surprise in his seat. "You…know these people?!" Lionel quirked to Wedge. Biggs answered for his partner. "Yes, and they have caused us trouble in the past with communications tower in Dollet! WHY did you let them escape?!" "Now Biggs, calm down," Wedge spoke, bringing himself to self control. Turning to Lionel, he continued, "The lieutenant here might not have seen them during the Dollet mission." "Correct sir! I would have remembered and radioed for backup if I had recognized them in Dollet," the interrogated one quickly replied in agreement.

Wedge looked over each of the drawn portraits of their suspects once more. He recognized only four of them. He had asked Lionel all about what they were doing out on the streets while those monsters still would have been on the loose. Wedge was tired and grumpy. Too tired to make any accusations just yet, but those particular four people he had pointed out and recognized.

Lionel pointed to the sketch of a girl appearing to be around the same age as the others, with a darkened mark on the left side of her head. A bruise. "That's the shaken up girl they had found within the collapsed gate's remains. Covered in blood she was." Sketch had even drawn the facial expression that Lionel best described. "What the _hell_?!" Biggs blurted out of the blue. "Those meddling kids are up to no good!" "No, wait!" Lionel back to him, holding up an arm to silence this quick to conclusions low ranker. "She was afraid of me, and using the blonde young man with the scar to hide behind."

Shortly, Lionel and Sketch had been dismissed. From the first interrogation before Sketch had asked Wedge and Biggs to leave him alone so he could focus in drawing the people who Lionel gave vividly clear descriptions of, the two headmen of the Galbadian army got the whole scoop of Lionel's encounter with the suspects. In another office further down this one hall of the bank, there was a copier and scanner with a computer in which they hoped had internet access. When Biggs turned the computer on, they found out they did. Thank Hyne.

As one of the few elite soldiers known to have access to the website which had files of criminal acts recorded from the past arrests, Wedge logged in as Biggs scanned the pictures one by one. The one portrait of the blonde with the diagonally left scar matched to a photo of a juvenile caught two years ago and had an overnight jail time for vandalizing and car theft. Seifer Almasy. So they found out one who one of their suspects were. Too bad, according to the file, he had been bailed from the local Deling City station early the next morning. He was still out on the streets.

Wedge, in his rational line of thinking, thought up a scenario and shared it with Biggs. "Seifer Almasy might have joined these SeeDs and the group must have turned bad because of him." "Yeah, but the brown haired kid, similar scar, seemed to be the leader to me at the communications tower," Wedge's partner and friend pointed out.

Eventually, they had checked the driver's licensing websites and found all the others names through there, after hours of searching and breaks in between. The search lasted into the early evening. It was a long and agonizing search but it paid off. All but one are from Balamb. The long haired young man was one of their own. Traitor…

All but of the sketch of the young woman with the bruise on her head. So perhaps this girl didn't have a driver's license on Gala, and didn't know her name, but at least they had the names of her companions…

****

For whom the bell tolls…time marches on!

For whom the bell tolls…


	15. Chicken Soup for the Tortured Soul

****

Alright, next chapter. Again, thanks to all reviewers…

Lyrics used: "Broken Down" by Sevendust, Seasons album…

Oh, and the bold italic stuff would mean lyrics sung on a CD or cassette within the story, that's not on the songfic part.

Chapter 15: Chicken Soup for the Tortured Soul

****

It takes time…to heal the wounds I've made along the way…

The first thing she heard was…music, but at a low volume. Silently opening her eyes, Selphie had found herself inside the Infirmary, and to her right were three other people. Seifer, Zell, and Marianne. Zell was sitting in between the two beds, facing away from Timlitt and towards the other two. Seifer wasn't focusing anywhere but toward the music that played from Marianne's CD player. Marianne was in the other bed, looking towards Almasy while finishing up the rest of her dinner. "Hey…" Selphie called softly, and they all looked in surprise and relief to see Selphie alive and okay.

"Welcome back Selphie," Zell said as he stood up, about to put the roller chair back where it belonged. "Ya hungry?" The girl in slightly blood stained yellow dress sat up and stretched. She got out of the bed without a problem. "…Starving," Timlitt said, whose attention was partially drawn to the music. **_"May impair your ability to operate machinery! Can't quite tell just what it means to me. Keep out of reach of children. Don't ya talk to strangers! Get your philosophy from a bumper sticker,"_** sang the male vocalist of this interesting band that seemed very interesting to her ears. "…Is this music from your world, Marianne?" "Yeah, they're known as Green Day," replied Marianne, slightly grinning.

It seemed as if her head pains were gone, but she knew that Bahamut was still doing all he could to numb the pain. Why? The battle with NORG has been over! _"You've still got a while until I am unable to hold back the pressure for a time. Please, enjoy yourself,"_ Bahamut offered his life partner. Bahamut was giving her a break? Well, in feeling through what he thought and felt, the dragon king decided that Marianne deserved it. After all she's done for the rest of her new found friends, who would help find her way back to Earth in return, Bahamut's way of helping her was trying to ease the pain, every once in a while. Even the itching from her bandaged right leg was gone.

Smiling, she turned to Seifer. "Sound familiar to you?" Distracted from his full attention towards the first song on her Green Day CD, Almasy was confused. "Hm?" "The words… They're something you relate to, right?" Zell and Selphie looked to Marianne in confusion as well. "Oh…" replied Seifer, with a hint of a smirk in the direction of the only person in bed. The song, titled "Warning" was a song he could definitely relate to. Questioning authority was what Earth's known male vocalist, Billie Joe Armstrong, was singing about. She giggled. "I thought so. The song so reminds me of you anyway."

Turning to Timlitt, Marianne got her attention by saying, "I'm sure you would want to wash that dress and change into something else, right?" Looking upon herself, Selphie nodded, moving a strand of her short and straight brown hair to the side of her face.

Walking up to Marianne, she noticed that she was doing just fine. Didn't seem to be bothered by any pain. "Oh, how's your head by the way?" she asked, wondering if the pain was all gone. If so, how could she have healed so quickly? "Bahamut's easing the pain some. He's being generous and giving me a break for once." From Marianne's words, the dragon inside inwardly grinned. _Now, why do I have a feeling that you have a bit of an ego?_ Lightly laughing, Bahamut replied to her, _"Guilty as charged."_ Giggling a little more, Selphie smiled back. "What's so funny hun?" For once, Timlitt was very glad to see Marianne in a good mood. Out of the scared and grumpy moods, there was something positive for once. "Bahamut's got a bit of an ego."

Dincht raised an eyebrow as Selphie quickly yelled, "Be right back!" Running out of the Infirmary, she did want to change into some clean clothes, but didn't want to miss much. People liked her liked people a lot, and would try to be friends as with many people as possible. And so quickly in first seeing her, she wanted to bond. And this proved that maybe Earth wasn't so different from Gala.

"I never knew a Guardian Force like Bahamut would have an ego," Almasy laughed as he walked back to the chair he had placed next to the right side of Marianne's hospital bed. _"Like humans, Seifer, each of us immortals have separate personas,"_ Leviathan, his now known Guardian, spoke. "Huh," Seifer mused in response, settling himself in the chair.

A little while later, the same CD still playing, Selphie had come back. She wore a cute white T-shirt with a little green creature in brown robes, with a little lantern in its hand. A Tonberry. The rest of her attire included navy blue and comfortable jeans, white socks, and brown loafers.

For a time, all of Marianne's worries had left, but this would be temporary. Her parents and the rest on Earth were in danger. She knew that, but it was as if it partially slipped from her mind. She was even singing a bit to the fifth track on the Warning album, "Castaway." "Green Day, huh? What a silly name for a band," Selphie said, having the giggles. Really, now what a seemingly ridiculous kind of name for a music group. What are Earth's customs, exactly? "Well, it's actually an inside joke kind of thing. Kinda complicated," Marianne briefly explained. "The trio, Mike, Billie, and Tre, live on all the way on the west coast of the country I live in. It has to do with lying around and smoking pot all day, but I don't really know them." "And where on your country are you from?" Zell asked her curiously. "The northeastern coast." "Ah… Pretty far then…"

Before Seifer pressed the play button on the white, round CD player, a little before Selphie woke up, Marianne had insisted to keep the volume on low. Surely the unfamiliar music would attract the many other people of Balamb Garden. The two blondes understood why. She probably wasn't quite adjusted to being here yet, and a crowd of people would make her feel nervous and definitely, the ultimate secret that was kept was not to be shared with them. It would only cause havoc.

Selphie knelt down to Marianne's eye level, remaining friendly as much as possible. Inside, she still felt really bad for her losses, but wanted to help her be happy for at least a little while longer. After this short while of forgetting, the smile faded. Sighing, Marianne slowly sank under the covers and onto the pillows. The feeling of a slight depression was coming onto her.

Looking into those forest green eyes of hers, Marianne said, "I'm reminded too much about home, Selphie." The shorter girl stroked the ride side of her face with the back of her hand. "I understand you're worried, and that miss your mom and dad sweetie." At times like this usually, Seifer would usually make gagging sounds in the background to resist the cheesiness, but this evening was an exception for sure. Marianne had felt homesick most of this afternoon and he felt like she deserved to be comforted like that.

Dincht boiled in anger from the inside. How could a woman so cruel do this? Doesn't she have…a conscience?! He wasn't there on the previous night when Seifer had no memory of her first arriving, until after Edea was leaving, but he could understand on how scared Marianne must have been. He looked to Almasy, whose blue green eyes looked very sad towards the injured one.

Zell moved to stand next to Selphie, trying to express some comfort too. For now, it was all they could do. "Yo, don't let up hope or else all is lost." Marianne nodded to his kind words and felt her eyes drift away from him and Timlitt. "I'm not going to give up, and don't ever plan to," Marianne convinced herself, the tone of her voice tensing up. Her depression was now turning to the same kind of anger Dincht just had a few seconds ago. "That's the spirit!" Selphie cheered, oblivious to the fact that a part of her newest friend was feeling pretty angry. Her optimism had somewhat reached Marianne, with Zell's help, and it gave her something to bite at courage with. To bite down the smite of evil known as Sorceress Edea…

High heeled shoes clapped onto the shiny tiled floor of the boys' dormitory. Of course, this golden blonde young woman was not one to try and break her own Garden's rules by sleeping with the opposite sex. A _MAJOR_ no-no in this facility. She used to work in the teaching staff. No she could never forget that career. Quistis loved to teach with a passion.

Her main purpose was to find Squall. This was not on chit chat terms like several other times throughout her life, but Trepe needed something from him. Money.

There was his dorm, number one-three-four. The door was closed so no one could possibly peek in and see what Leonhart would be doing. And these were just one of those times in which the now appointed Commander did not wish to be disturbed at all. Politely knocking, Quistis patiently waited. No answer after a minute, so she tried again, lightly tapping on the wood of Squall's dormitory room.

From the other side of the door, he tossed and turned for a bit, trying to block out that annoying tapping. By the third set of knocks, it was clear that the visitor was being a _pest_ and would not go away until he answered the door. "Alright, give me one second, goddamn it," Leonhart grumbled as he trudged out of bed. The tone of his voice let Quistis know that he had been sleeping. _Wow, someone is sure cranky without any beauty sleep,_ she mused to herself, smiling. Squall opened the door to see who was bugging him. "I'm sorry to intrude," Trepe softly, and politely apologized. "But I need the money to buy Marianne some clothes. She is going to stay with us for a while, I'm thinking." _Oh, so that's it?_ Squall thought, the hardened stare from his red eyes easing up a little bit. "Oh, alright," he said, much less grumpy than he was to start with.

"Hang on a second," said Leonhart, closing the door. He thought of it wise to keep it closed while getting out his hidden sack of Gil. That way so no one would know where it was. Going to the drawer beside his bed, he opened up just a little. Hidden under his favorite issue of Timber Maniacs was a brown sack that was tied closed with thin, darker brown string. Squall wasn't much of a reader, but still…it was a nice place to keep it. A nice place where he wouldn't forget where his paid salaries were, out of the rest of his organized room. Place a obsessive compulsive in that dorm, and he or she would walk out satisfied with Squall's very clean room. Only this time, it wasn't very clean. Those other magazines Leonhart had piled up on his desk were still all over the floor on the other side of his bed, opposite to where his secret drawer was. There were other sacks of Gil stashed, so it wouldn't hurt to give Quistis just one that had over one hundred Gil in it. That should be plenty enough for a few casual outfits for Marianne.

The door opened again and Quistis had out an open palm. With one hand, Squall placed the sack into it. "…Is there anything else, Quistis?" Leonhart asked. Trepe took the advantage of his tired version of being polite. "No, is there something else?" she asked, being nice as possible and to see if she could loosen up that grump and get a friendly conversation out of him for once. To her unsatisfaction, a door being closed was the response. _Yeah, to leave me alone,_ Squall thought, referring to Trepe as he turned off the lamp on his drawer and fell forward, face partially buried into his pillow. In not much time at all, sleep took him in…

Back in the Infirmary's resting area, Irvine had come to visit for a while. He had paid attention to some of Marianne's Green Day CD, and heard Selphie giggling and mentioning it for a second time on how silly the name was for such an interesting rock band. He looked upon the tired Seifer Almasy. Zell Dincht was comforting the homesick person the best he could. "Where's Quisty?" Timlitt asked Kinneas curiously. "Oh, she went to see Squall for some money for some clothes for you know who…" He said it like that to lighten the mood, for the group had obviously needed it. Marianne smiled. Selphie ran out in a hurry, shouting, "Is she leaving now?! I wanted to go! She'd better not forget about me!" A light laugh emitted from Marianne's lips as she saw Timlitt make her comical exit. "That Selphie… She tries too hard to make others happy," she mused as Zell smiled back, agreeing.

Seifer shook his head from side to side as he smiled upon Selphie leaving as well. _I'd have to say that Timlitt is a kid sister for anyone._ The Galbadian cowboy took Selphie's spot. "Hey there. How's your head feelin?" "Bahamut's been numbing the pain lately, so I'm fine." was the answer. "How are you?" Kinneas grinned, happy to know that he had turned a light on among the depressed atmosphere of the hospital area. "I'm just fine. Well fed, nothin' to do but visit the sick for right now." "Yeah, I don't think she likes being alone in here," Zell said, as if reading Marianne's thoughts. "Right you are, dude," the spiky blonde heard her crack in response. Her little smile remained this time. "Having to be here sucks… But then again, like Seifer said, it's only for a few days."

From then on, it was mostly just chit chat at random. Nothing of much importance but the need to socialize and temporarily shake off the problems Marianne's been having since first arriving in Gala. The Green Day CD had finished playing and Kinneas placed it back in its case. The next CD to be played was by a group named Hoobastank. The volume remained the way it was, on low and softly playing in the background. And in a matter of another long while of time passing, Marianne started to feel sleepy. The others weren't able to not see that. So after a few sayings of goodnights and hugs, Zell, Irvine, and Seifer left her to rest up. She needed it…

****

If I'm blind, open my eyes

'Cause I need to see again…

After about an hour or two of sleep, the raven haired young lady decided to wake up the person sitting across from her, head buried into her arms on the glass patio-like round table. "Marianne," Rinoa called, while Bahamut was in the same area, a few feet behind them. Slowly, she saw her raise her head up from the table's surface, eyes fluttering open. When Marianne's eyes came into focus, she realized that the previous night's promise was well kept. Getting up, the two hugged, Marianne feeling thankful for this second visit. Rinoa, embracing her back, moved a comforting hand along the back of her scalp.

Letting go of Marianne, Heartilly showed her a warm smile. "Have a seat. I have something for you." It wasn't until then that she felt that…something…was behind her. It was only a very, very big dark blue and perwinkle dragon. "Hey, Bahamut…" Marianne spoke to her Guardian softly, while Rinoa came back to the table with a tall glass, filled with pinkish white liquid. _"Good evening, Marianne,"_ the dragon king replied in a polite manner. A straw was inserted too. "A milkshake?" Marianne quirked. Though she'd have to admit, strawberry was her most favorite flavor when it came to milkshakes. Rinoa nodded, smiling sweetly. Slowly sliding the glass towards her, she took a sip. The taste senses on Marianne's tongue seemed to have fully recovered, since it has been a while since she was afraid or intimidated by Squall's hawk stare.

Rinoa half smiled, feeling relieved that she could help Marianne relax. _"Is that all you have to offer? A milkshake?"_ questioned the Guardian of Wisdom, his tone of voice sounding disappointed. "No," Heartilly replied simply, looking to Bahamut. After a swallow of the delicious drink, Marianne spoke up. "I think it's rather nice, Mr. Almighty." She meant to say it as a joke or pun, and with her Guardian in connection with her mind, Bahamut was not angered. Instead, he chuckled lightly. "It's to lighten the mood of course," Rinoa agreed, smiling in response. So with that, Marianne felt her life partner ease up and his emotions were calm.

"You've been through a lot today, from what I've seen," Heartilly told Marianne, bringing up the past current events. "…Yeah," was all that she heard her say before taking another sip of the milkshake she provided.

After that, Rinoa watched the curious young woman look around at the surroundings. The two were sitting in two white cushioned metal chairs, across from each other at this round patio table. The setting looked to be a restaurant of some sort. There was a bar and young dark haired male bartender in a white shirt and buttoned up black vest, located to the right of the other three beings. Ambient music that sounded oddly familiar was playing softly in the background. Was this music…? "Hey, I have this tune on an audio cassette," Marianne said to Rinoa, recognizing the flute and Caribbean instruments playing a nice melody. "Yeah, it's from your memory," the dark haired angel replied, softly smiling once more. "Huh," Marianne uttered in somewhat emotions of surprise.

Pulling aside from these little distractions, she brought the subject back up. "Yeah, today was partially scary. I had to do all I could for Seifer though." "And I'm _glad_ you did," Heartilly replied quickly. _"Despite the foolishness, yes, it was the right thing to do,"_ Bahamut said, joining this conversation. He was lying down, front five fingered clawed hands/feet spread out forward. Like a cat. His wings were tucked in above his back. Looking down at the table where her light tannish arms rested, Marianne added in a firm tone, "And I'll never be like that again." She looked up to Bahamut's huge head, which slowly nodded to confirm this matter.

Just on the mentioning of the most recent events didn't make Marianne feel any better, but depressed. Sure, it was cool to have prevented Almasy to leave, but the battle with NORG was _SCARY_. Other than that, she was starting to think about her parents twenty-four seven now. In her heart, she so wanted to see her mom and dad, but her brain told her it was not possible.

Burying her face into her hands, she almost felt like crying again. Heartilly reached over to touch one of Marianne's arms. Bahamut could feel the grief from his life partner. He frowned upon the matter in a lack of words, and looked toward one of the most recent angelic humans of Hyne. Marianne in return could feel Bahamut's wants to be able to help lift her spirits.

****

If I can feel again,

Will you tell me now or wait 'til I'm broken down again?

Save me now. I'm broken…

With face covered still, she managed to make a small plea to Rinoa. "Please, tell me there's some good news. Bahamut and my own gut agree on returning to Earth being a very small chance, but am I wrong?" Heartilly's eyes expressed sadness as her pretty pink lips came flat together. It was crystal clear that the Earth girl was homesick. After a moment's hesitation, she spoke the unpleasant truth. "The both of you are right, but…don't think like that."

Unable to restrain herself, the compassionate raven haired one crossed over to Marianne's side and drew her into a hug. "I know I can't give up hope, and before going to bed, I've prayed long and hard for a miracle." Marianne informed. This was something the other used to encourage her. "Then keep at it, sweetie."

Bahamut, sitting behind the two mortals felt himself nodding his huge head in agreement once more. He couldn't let Marianne wallow in sorrow, and she's only been far from home like this for a day at least. He remembered from seeing into her mind a few times, came some appropriate words of advice. _"Marianne, like you've told others before, miracles take time. So, why don't you follow your own advice?"_ He reached her back with one of his front claws and very gently stroked down her back. This caused Marianne to release from Rinoa to look at the dragon, tears in her eyes.

****

If I bleed, my lies won't fill the emptiness inside…

"Yeah," Bahamut heard her whisper. He watched her wipe a tear away from her cheek, and Rinoa wrapping an arm around her.

Marianne had a big hole inside her. Would the others help her recover? She was sure they would try really hard. But how long could she pull herself together? How long would she be able to keep faith in going home? Questions that were complex to answer and trying to fill up that giant crater in her soul would be a difficult task.

****

I just need…for something real to open up my mind…

Heartilly remained sitting beside her on the floor, with Bahamut in front of them, laying down. Silence had spread among the three as one of them was mentally struggling to get it together. Trying to prevent from crying out to her parents when she knew she could not reach them. They were to be the sorceress's slaves until she would arrive on Earth to liberate their freedom, and the freedom of others. So far the solution seemed to point down on Esthar and Odine. Marianne's Guardian Force could feel the disapproval of a scientist whose kidnapped children to perform his own experiments for spare time.

__

"You and I both know that Odine is a shameful being, but he seems to be one of the best options we have." Forming a plan, trying to get out of the empty feeling of depression, Marianne nodded in somewhat agreement. "Tomorrow, Squall, Zell, Seifer, Selphie, any of them, would have to go to Esthar for me." "If you were the Headmaster, who would you send?" Rinoa wondered in curiosity. Looking to the naturally beautiful teenage female, Marianne's facial expression seemed uncertain through a few tears she had shed. "I wouldn't know exactly…" "What about Squall?"

__

Squall…I don't know, Marianne thought to herself. Bahamut heard her thoughts, but didn't feel the need to say anything, because this was only a question not needed to be answered. _Squall, I think, would be still angry on being Commander. Possibly doesn't want to go anywhere._ "No, I doubt he'd volunteer to go to Esthar," Marianne confirmed, sharing her thoughts with Rinoa. "I know he's not happy at all of having the responsibility of Balamb Garden to be balanced on his shoulders. I know I wouldn't."

To Heartilly, it made sense. "Yeah, you're probably right," she started to agree. "But I wouldn't be too sure…" Marianne looked into her eyes. "What do you mean by that?" The other just smiled. "You do know that a part of him cares, right? Deep down, he's a really caring person?" Rinoa got a shrug in response at first. "Well, yeah. I know he cares, because he's saved my life a couple times. He just doesn't want to open up really…"

"Seifer would volunteer in a heartbeat I think," Marianne said from the heart. _"Yes, he's significantly concerned for you lately," _ Bahamut uttered in agreement. Shortly, that subject was over. In a way, she felt a little better. It was better to have a hope than none at all. She was still pretty down of what all has happened still.

****

If I can feel again,

Will you tell me now or wait 'til I'm broken down again?

Save me now. I'm broken…

Breaking down, I'm breaking down…

Unable to say anything more, Rinoa and Bahamut left Marianne to fall silent. Then, something unexpected happened. A tune that was one of Marianne's favorites on her New Age of Jazz audio cassettes, started playing. Heartilly saw the surprised look on her face, and smiled. Bahamut smiled on the inside, knowing this was one of her favorites. "It's just really cool to listen to. This one, and yet, I've only recorded half of it." _"The first half was recollected from your memory,"_ Bahamut explained._ "I know this seems strange to you, but such as myself and Rinoa, we can create these different realities as you dream…using your memories."_

Nodding, Marianne decided to scoot over close to whom she thought was the coolest dragon she ever befriended. Reading her thoughts, her Guardian lightly laughed. _"I'm the only dragon you've ever met."_ Relaxing, leaning up against one of the dragon king's front feet or arms, or both, Marianne listened to the rest of the tune. Rinoa hummed along with some of the melody, finding this piece of music amusing.

With the same knowledge as whose memories were used, Heartilly didn't know the name of the artist who did the current piece. Bahamut didn't know either, who was making a home inside Marianne's mind.

The music finally ended, the same time Marianne felt like this dream should end. A rather good ending to a dream in her opinion. And she was feeling tired. "Bahamut," she softly called to her immortal friend. "Is it okay if I rest here?" _"Of course,"_ he replied, not objecting at all. Looking to Rinoa before her eyes closed, Marianne told her a goodnight. "Thanks for the milkshake and all," she added. "It was nice." "I'm glad," Rinoa said, smiling once more. She gave the sleepy one a hug and kissed the side of her head. A type of kiss that would be just like a sister would do onto another.

Rinoa stood up, and slowly vanished as Marianne closed her eyes. Before turning in as well, Bahamut just wanted to stay up a little bit longer, watching his life partner rest peacefully. In order to help her adjust to Gala and being so far from home, it would have to take a lot of patience.

****

It takes time…

Bahamut and Marianne's own essence returned to the bed in the Infirmary, to have a long and peaceful sleep. All was calm throughout the Balamb Garden facility now. Everyone was asleep in their beds, not disturbed. Squall, one of the lightest sleepers, thought he heard something, but his Guardian, Quezacotl, assured him it was the wind. It was not. A plastic bag, too dark at night for anyone to see it, had been dropped and placed there in between the two doors of the dormitory that separated the females from the males. The first one to awaken from the dorms would see this surprise. Surely, the next morning would bring an early riser that Marianne wouldn't expect…


	16. Echoing Sorrows

****

I was anxious in getting this chapter written, and I love how it turned out. People, this is the first you'll see of Squall, starting to have a change of heart. Enjoy!

Lyrics used: "Honesty" by Sevendust, off the Seasons album

Chapter 16: Echoing Sorrows

****

It's not supposed to hurt this much…

But it could never feel the same again…

Tossing and turning at the first hint of light, the sleeper could not block it out. Positioned on his left side, he slowly opened his eyes. The pile of magazines still littered his carpeted floor. Softly groaning, Leonhart sat up and began to clean up the mess. And the alarm clock on top of his private drawer wasn't even close to going off. It would only be another half hour until it would do so.

Ever since Squall was first assigned to his very first real SeeD mission, and not being tested, he had adjusted to make himself his own alarm clock. This would mean he would force himself to rise early, no matter how much sleep he'd get.

After placing the pile of most recent Weapons Monthly issues neatly on top of his desk, which faced one of the windows of his dorm, Squall stood up and stretched his arms and back. This happened to be a technique he's gotten accustomed to in over the past several days of traveling and fighting off monsters and Galbadian troops. A final yawn signaled to Leonhart that he was ready for the new day ahead of him.

Walking to the closet, he began fingering through the shirts and jackets on the hangers. He didn't feel like wearing his favorite leather jacket, so he picked his second most favorite: a jacket made out of the same fabric style used to make jeans. It was a button up, with single button and holed pockets on the upper front of the jacket. Goldenrod colored yarn was sown on for decorative lines. Squall took it off the hanger and tossed it onto the bed behind him. Then he turned to the small dresser with different drawers for socks, briefs, pants, and shirts.

The rest of his chosen outer attire were blue jeans, white socks, and the usual black boots, deciding not to wear his belts. Only they were to be worn for military and battling purposes, to store the bullets for his Revolver gunblade. Of course, no casual morning was complete with a nice, hot shower…

When Squall was all ready to leave his dorm, he looked around, just making sure that he didn't forget to do anything. Keeping his room clean was taught by early age at the orphanage he grew up in, and he made it into a daily habit. This was one of his few hobbies besides working out and exercising his strengths at the Balamb Garden's Training Center.

He took his time in walking down to the main entrance and exit. The sun would only start to rise, for it was a little after 7 AM in the morning. There was no hurry for the new appointed Commander. Besides, he hated being in a hurry for anything. He liked taking his time. Opening the door slowly and quietly, he hit something. There was a little sound. Once fully out of the boys' dormitory, Squall saw a plastic bag full of various items. He first recognized a stuffed animal. A gray and white dog looking thing that was clear to see by the dimmed hallway lights. There was some sort of heart shaped tag with two white lower case letters close together. A "t" and "y."

Only during the night until the sun would just start to peak over the horizon, these solar powered ceiling lights would dim, making it easy on the eyes for night patrollers who made sure that everyone standing around in the hallway or main entrance lobby were in their dorms with the lights off.

Anyway, besides the dog plush, he had found a casual outfit. Socks, white and light icy blue sneakers with shoe laces, blue jeans, underwear and bra that he had no intention of laying a finger on, and a T-shirt that had the picture of a cartoon orange and black striped cat in a white suit sitting on a bench. "HUNGRY IS AS HUNGRY DOES…" read the thought bubble. There was also the big font: Forest Gulp. On the side of inside the tan plastic bag, there were some more of those glass CD cases with various covers and words on them. Meaningless things to Squall, really.

"All of this belongs to Marianne," informed Quezacotl's voice in Leonhart's mind. _Of course,_ he thought back._ Edea left her another present… _Feeling the wants of his Guardian, Leonhart thought it wasn't a big deal in just placing them nearby Marianne's hospital bed in the Infirmary. Besides, with that girl's head pain and all, he figured she'd still be asleep, right?

Off he walked then, to the Infirmary, with the dog under one arm, and plastic bag firmly gripped by both handles in one hand. The idea formed in his mind in dealing with Marianne for today was to just put her stuff down near the bed, then leave. He wasn't going to linger. Besides, he'd probably spend some of the day working out in the training center. He could read something from the library… Or just sulk to himself in misery. Leonhart was still not feeling that great on being Commander of Balamb Garden.

There were so many innocent people to watch over. So many to look up to him. It felt as if the entire world was lifted and then placed onto his shoulders. Did Cid _really_ think he could take up this kind of responsibility? Why him? Why not just someone else?! It's fucked!!

Approaching quietly and cautiously as possible, Squall just wanted to get this done and over with. He pushed open one of the double doors to the resting area. Someone's muffling sounds were heard on the other side.

The head pain had come back, full throttle. Marianne reluctantly woke up. Hissing in pain, she placed one of her hands gently on where it hurt. _She's awake then,_ Squall observed and approached nearby the bed she laid down on. The sound of his boots touching the floor had caused her to look in his direction. Fighting down on the pain, Marianne could just feel more tension coming from her. Ever since yesterday morning, she's felt intimidated and a little scared around this cold hearted young man known as Squall Leonhart.

Hostility, out of all things, was what she had not wanted. And since that early evening when Headmaster Cid Kramer was giving the announcements, Marianne had been trying to see past what she used to see Leonhart as. He had been a favorite video game character before, and now it was known that he was actually a real person. Deep down, a tiny part of her still had the same admiration, and it was to be hidden from him on this morning. Maybe one day she would tell him, but now was just not the time. Her head was hurting like hell, and she did _NOT_ want to be dealing with Squall today. Anyone else was okay. Seifer, Zell, Quistis, Selphie… Perhaps a complete stranger. …Just not him. Can't he see that she's gone through enough for now?

"…If you are here to make-" Marianne was trying to say under her breath, through the pain she felt, but Squall abruptly cut her off from saying anything further by the serious tone in his voice. "Save your breath. I'm not here about that," Squall said, rather cold and firm. _I know you don't want me here…_ The way he said it had gripped her attention. Drifting her eyes toward Leonhart, his look was blank, and he was truly trying his hardest not to stir tension in the other.

Showing her the bag and the dog, Squall added, "I'm just here to drop off your stuff. You do recognize all this, right?" From the way he was acting, Marianne easily read that Squall just wanted to respectfully take them to her before someone she wouldn't know would take her belongings into his or her possession. That, and he seemed to be in a hurry. She was too hurt and tired to tell him off for the previous events. A part of her wanted to, but overall felt that it was not going to happen. _The pain… This God awful pain, _Marianne's thoughts expressed in agony.

The things that Squall was holding in both of his hands. She couldn't clearly see what was in the bag, due to the dim light, but the dog plush she noticed. It was definitely hers. "Well?" Leonhart sighed, in irritation. The look on his face told Marianne that he didn't want to be here for long, and it was clear that he didn't want to be around her, period. "Yeah…" she whispered. "I know the dog is…" God, she hated this headache so much… "What's in the bag?" From that question asked, her whisper got a little louder. Placing her things down on the floor, Squall blankly reported as to what he found. "Clothes, a few of your 'CDs'… That's all I found in there."

"Ice…" Marianne softly requested all of a sudden. She heard Squall clearly, but just needed to numb down the pain, for it was just too much. "And… Could you hand me the…?" To Squall, he could see that she was very much in pain, but couldn't understand what that other request was. Quezacotl figured it out. He watched through Squall's eyes to see Marianne reaching for the nose part of the plush. _"The dog… Give it to her,"_ his Guardian insisted as Squall did so without complaints. "I'll be right back with an ice pack," Leonhart told her blankly and walked to the left, further down into the medical sections of the Infirmary, rather than exiting. Surely after this little task, he would leave. It's clear enough that neither of them want him to stick around.

****

I'm left with nothing but the memory of the way you used to feel…

He never went down this way, but it was no big deal. But a part of him felt a little bad for this person and fought through that dark, cold side of his heart. _She's just as normal as any other human being,_ he mentally sighed to himself. For a while he has known that, and broken his own promise earlier to lighten up a little. Not his fault that Cid chose him to be Commander, to make him angry. That's the Headmaster's own damn fault.

In no time at all, in turning on the lights, Leonhart found what looked like a silver mini refrigerator. He opened the upper door. In there were the ice packs, as he thought where they would be. Without hesitation, he grabbed the cold rectangular blue ice pack and shut the freezer door. Then he walked back to where Marianne was resting, still hugging the dog with both arms, but gently. She looked to him and received the ice pack. Shortly, she softly uttered a "thanks" in reply, holding it to her head with one hand, and holding that dog close to her with the other. But what caught Squall's attention afterwards was the sad look in those blue green eyes, in which he's seen fear and terror from her before on the night of the Deling City Gate collapsing. How could such a person do this, as in break down his walls? Why should he even care?

The look in her eyes bothered him just the same. "What now?" he said, partly aggravated. He should have started walking out those doors to somewhere else, but didn't move. Marianne didn't do or say anything, but remained looking sad. "What is it?" he pressed. A part of him just wanted to know. What if it were something important to the Seifer and the others, and Cid?

Marianne heard him the first time, just after she begun to recall what was said in that dream before. That she was going to be in this world of Gala for a while. And there was something that had slipped her mind. The homesickness had been trying to recall this, but to no avail.

Scheduled to be at the end of June, there was somewhere she was looking forward to going with her father to. The National Invitational Theatre Festival of 2004. Back two years ago, she went with the high school drama group she was in. That is, until she graduated. At the University of Maryland, was a week full of fun. A week full of different high schools in her home world to perform shows and fun workshops. Including a day at the amusement park, Six Flags. It was basically going to be the same thing this year, but with her father, Thomas J. Markham. He didn't go the first time she went. This year was to be her second time at the National Theatre Festival, and this time her dad was going too. She was so wanting to go too… Because of what happened, she was going to have to miss out.

Squall got that same mental grip on reality towards her to answer him. "I'm…not going to Nationals…" she said, in summary of what was supposed to happen. Okay, what Marianne had just said did not make any sense to him whatsoever. "What are you talking about?" he asked. _What's Nationals? What the hell…? …I don't get it,_ thought a perplexed Squall. _"Then listen to her,"_ Quezacotl suggested, feeling the need to tell him that. Squall has been feeling very shut off lately. _"Have an open mind this time."_

Marianne didn't want to go into full details on it, and decided to be brief as possible, but without giving much confusion. Besides, she knew Squall well enough to like explanations over anything. "There's a…certain event I was supposed to go to, at home. With my dad. I was really looking forward to going…" In talking about it, a part of her just felt so torn, remembering on seeing her father as an emotionless puppet to Sorceress Edea. Fresh, new tears were starting to appear in her eyes. Quickly, they came down her face. It hurt so much on missing this event, and how much she wished her father, along with her mother, was here with her, right now.

All of a sudden, a pang of guilt flooded across Leonhart. The walls easily seen through by the other, had been taken down again. He didn't fully understand on what Marianne was on about, but understood well enough that she didn't want to talk about it. Missing this "certain event" definitely hit her where it hurts. Her shaky breathing signaled to Squall that she had started crying.

__

She's wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place, he thought to himself and looked away from her. _Now she can't go on that trip with her father… She really has been as normal as I have been all along._ It was hard pushing away these feelings. The truth about him and the world of Gala hurt just as much. About halfway, he had begun to see past all what Marianne has explained, as to letting him in on that cold, cruel truth. Of all things, Squall felt he wasn't _that_ cruel or near as cruel to that point. And leaving her like this would be on the same level.

Standing there for a moment longer, he was confirming this situation in thought. _She's supposed to be at her home on Earth, with her family. She doesn't deserve all of this, damn it._ Furthermore, her sadness reminded himself of how miserable he was as a child, an orphan. He knew what it felt like to not have any true parents of his own. In a few ways, he felt alike to Marianne.

Squall moved the chair by the far wall close to the bed and sat there, remembering how hurt and scared she was at first sight. The way she turned to Zell when Seifer raised his voice in just abruptly finding out what was going on. The emotional pain and suffering she was feeling now was somewhat similar to Ellone leaving Squall at the orphanage. In a way, he crystal clearly understood her situation.

Something bubbled up inside Squall's mind. There was a yearning from his Guardian. The thunderbird read Squall's feelings and made another suggestion. _"Talk to her."_ Squall mentally objected. Marianne hadn't seen the alarmed look on his face. _What?! I don't have anything to tell her to make her feel better, you know. "…I think you do, Squall."_ his Guardian Force further pressed.

Furious, Squall wanted to tell the nosy one off, but first… _Oh… You deeply care about this girl, don't you?_ Squall had it figured out, and quick, remembering what Marianne said on that one dream. Quezacotl did meet her there, according to Marianne's words. He wasn't able to easily forget things. _If you like her so much, then why don't you junction to her? Stop telling me what to do._ Quezacotl countered, _"I know you don't mean that. …And from before, I sensed two presences within Marianne in coming out of that battle with the T-Rexaur yesterday. Now there's only one. She drew out Leviathan, so where is that Guardian now? She must feel that Bahamut's enough for her to handle as a life partner, and I agree."_ This fact had opened Squall's eyes. Leviathan! If he wasn't inside Marianne, then where…?

"But don't ask her about that now. Don't rush her," Quezacotl said, quickly getting the upper hand on this mishap. _"Just… at least be there to listen, if not to say much."_

Marianne looked to Squall, realizing that he should have left by now. Bahamut figured it out. _"Quezacotl…"_ No need to say anything more. She remembered how nice Squall's GF was. So, he must have made Squall stay and be of comfort. "Squall, how's Quezacotl doing?" she had to ask. Leonhart crossed his arms and remained blank and emotionless as he could. "He's fine… Rather concerned about you…" The bit on Quezacotl concerned for her got on his nerves. Curiously and likewise, Squall asked about Bahamut. "How's Bahamut treating you?" "Good, very good," Marianne said through her tears. "Yet somehow I feel his thoughts on feeling sorry in not being able to comfort me this time."

****

I guess you finally took the deepest cut.

I guess the blade on my tongue was just too much…

Her eyes drifted away from him again. "I guess you kind of know how I feel, huh," she figured, not realizing it was along Quezacotl's suggestions. _I guess,_ Squall silently answered her. He really didn't have anything to say to her. He felt as if nothing would help. But what about hope? Weren't there any words out there for him to grab into mind and tell her?

No one's really sure on getting Marianne back home. Not even Marianne herself. Quezacotl didn't say anything. It seemed impossible to get his life partner to give hope. This was something Squall didn't want to believe. He was especially not a person to give false hopes to another. Leonhart was a direct and to the point person, strongly and completely down to earth. Let others be the ones to give her hope.

Tucked in bed, Marianne was feeling a little afraid again. Bahamut grumbled about Squall, irritated on how he's just sitting there and not saying anything. He was bringing a little bit of discomfort.

Just then they both noticed that the sun was beginning to rise. Marianne was faced away from the window beside her, but saw the light show on the wall far ahead of her. Squall briefly looked out the window, then down at the floor at his feet. The long and dangling dark brown hair on both sides of his head prevented the sun to blind him in the eye.

"Squall, at least say something to help her cope. If you were her, in that bed, and in her situation, would you want at least a little encouragement?" Quezacotl had tried, and it was up to his life partner to say anything or not.

Marianne, on the other hand, wasn't going to wait for Squall to say anything. Bahamut felt the same thing she was feeling. He probably wasn't going to say anything at all. "Well…there's always next year…" she tried to say, desperate to stay positive and kept Rinoa's presence in mind. "If there is going to be a next year," she added, unable to fight down those heartbroken feelings that Edea's caused in the long run. At any moment she would just let herself cry until she couldn't shed anymore tears.

"I don't know if there will be, but we sure will do our hardest to help you." The statement just slipped off Leonhart's tongue before he took notice. _Damn it… Well, too late to turn back now._ Quezacotl felt relieved, in which was what Squall could feel to his dismay. Leaning forward, Squall decided to finish off his statement in his own honest words. He saw the girl's innocent, teary eyes look at him. "I don't want to give you a false hope, but it is true that we're all concerned about you." Marianne slowly nodded in agreement, through her sobs. Squall continued, "I'm only promising that we'll try our best." She nodded again, knowing they would. And Marianne also knew that Squall wasn't one to give hope to anybody. She figured he'd say something like what he's just told her.

****

Every word that I said came from my dark side, now this

Emptiness is real…

"Thank you," she managed to whisper to him. Slowly, and a little louder, she added, "Thanks, for everything…" _I know you really don't give a shit whether someone thanks you or not, but I had to say it._ Squall, in return, didn't react. He just sat there, all stone faced. Just as she somewhat suspected in knowing him too damn well.

Thinking back to that night in which she had to explain everything, Marianne just couldn't look away from Squall this time. "I'm…sorry it had to turn out this way," she found herself apologizing. This sort of startled the usually untouched Squall Leonhart. _She's sorry…? But, it's not even her fault. She's not involved in any…_ Shaking his head side to side slowly, he countered, "You don't have to be sorry on anything. It's not your fault that you are here. I can tell you don't even want to be here." From those words, Marianne was caught by surprise. _So, he's truly having a change of heart around me?_ _"Only by a little, I'm afraid,"_ Bahamut assumed. _"It's an improvement at least."_

As from one Guardian Force to another in little personal missions, Bahamut forced himself to keep Quezacotl's secret mission remain a secret. If Marianne was let on it now, she would probably tell Squall, thus ruining his compassionate sibling's plan. And the dragon king didn't think the thunderbird would forgive him so easily for that.

****

You reach beneath the surface more…

"About Odine and Esthar…you're not in good shape at all to be dealing with it. My comrades and I will take it from here," Squall said for the injured one's sake. _Wow, you sure did take a load off of my shoulders… Yeah, no doubt at all that Squall's a natural born leader,_ thought Marianne in part sarcasm, looking to him. "You just need to focus on getting better," Leonhart continued, really trying to put an end to all of his statements. He didn't want to go to far, because he won't fully admit he's gone a little soft. He paused for a second, and the look on Marianne's face was somewhat surprised. Shocked maybe. "Don't say it," Squall snapped irritably, and stood up. "I know what you're going to say. Yeah, okay…maybe I was chosen to be Commander for a reason. And there's no one else up to take my place, so I have no choice."

Indeed, somewhere along those lines, Marianne was going to bring up something on him being the Garden's commander ranked person. _So, he can still read me like I can read through him._ Bahamut found this to be interesting, and understood on why Marianne was hesitant in admitting to what she felt towards him before all of this mess. He didn't want to push her to say it either, knowing the results would be traumatizing for them both.

About to push his chair back where it belonged, Leonhart coldly announced, "I'll be going now…" "Hey," he heard her call to him, and he turned his head to look in her direction. _Now what do you want?_ "Could you just stick around here for a while, until someone else comes…? Please?" Marianne gently requested.

There was something she felt from Leonhart… Comfort. And for a time, just his presence would just help her, along with her junctioned Guardian from breaking down in tears. Bahamut, no matter in how much pain she was in, could feel the her brain improvising. She was quite a fighter.

Squall only gave her a look that said a "no," but she had come up with something to make him agree. "In return…I won't mention what was said this morning. When someone else comes, I'll just say you were just leaving." "But, I don't have anything else to tell you," Squall honestly protested, and trying not to make her upset or anything.

Why are you promising this? …What is it that you want from me? Confusion and irritation clouded his mind all at once. What bugged him even more was feeling Quezacotl's agreement in this. _"You don't have anything better to do, Squall,"_ the bird from within pointed out. Surprisingly, Marianne had said something similar to that, possibly not realizing that his Guardian came across it first. "It's not like you have anything better to do right now."

****

Too blind to see…you stole my honesty…

In proving that the two were right, Squall placed himself back down in the chair. "I know you're not one of words, but at least just listen," Marianne asked of him. "Bahamut can do that too, you know," Leonhart mentioned, defending himself. _"Squall,"_ Quezacotl pressed. _Well, fine then!_ Leonhart mentally grumbled to him and remained sitting down. "I know, I just…" she was trying to say, but was having a bit of trouble finding the right words. "Don't want to be alone?" Squall finished. He watched her think for a moment, and nodded somewhat in agreement. _Yeah, I know how you feel… I felt the same way after Ellone…_

"That, and I'd like a human presence if it's not too much to ask," Marianne added after a moment long pause. "A…person for a person I thought of and miss so much." _Her father,_ Squall figured, on about the one being missed. He didn't know how it felt about having a father, but could understand her troubles anyway. _He's someone she really cares about… And her mother too…_ Squall then realized that she was having another case of homesickness. Oh yeah, this was going to be a constant thing, knowing that Edea's made her parents to be mindless slaves.

Hey, it isn't too bad Marianne… At least they're alive. "At least they're alive," Squall repeated from his mind aloud. The monotone of his voice remained the same throughout, showing no emotion. "Yeah, but I'm not sure if it'll stay that way," she somewhat agreed. The sound of her voice signaled fear. Fear and care for her loved ones.

These feelings of despair were reaching deep into Leonhart's soul and gripping onto it. Her grief was just emotionally frustrating him. Didn't he prove himself clear that everyone leaves you at one point? No, being like that towards her would be cruel. He'd just lifted her spirit's a little, and he had no intention of taking them down. Quezacotl, no doubt in his right mind, would disapprove all the way.

Unable to shake her emotions away, he had to just point out something. Directly facing her dispirited form, he spoke what he thought was right. "From what myself and the others are getting, you don't know much on what's going on at Earth right now. So don't assume anything." The way he said those words was just through irritation, and a small part of him _hated_ seeing Marianne like this. Somewhat noble and understanding, he confirmed in his mind that he would do all he can, now that he was to be the Commander.

Leviathan… he reminded himself and was impatient to ask about it. "Quezacotl let me know that you no longer have Leviathan. Where is he?" Marianne felt a jolt in her veins when Squall brought that matter up. "Nobody told you yet?" she quirked in a medium whisper. _So, everyone else besides me knows what happened to Leviathan?_ "No…" he replied, forcing himself to remain calm. He hoped she didn't do anything…rash. "What did you do with Leviathan." "Okay, don't be mad or anything, but…" Marianne begun to say, knowing from her experience as the "game player," the SeeD trainees would have to earn their Guardian Forces. And Seifer Almasy didn't actually earn one yet, did he?

"I gave him to Seifer," Marianne said, pushing herself to just remain calm. Squall wasn't mad, but rather surprised. "He was the only one without a Guardian Force. And as…the, you know, I knew you'd have to basically study hard or whatever to earn as GF." Leonhart of course knew that Marianne hadn't been here in Gala for as long as he has, and nodded. He understood upon her actions. The intentions were from her heart alone, and that she wasn't from here.

"Okay," he simply said, to Marianne's disbelief. What, not even a disapproval? No, Squall wasn't even one to make much disapprovals over one's actions. So the disbelief was short lived. Inside, she was thankful that Squall took this in okay. "So, if no one told you anything about it, where were you?" Marianne curiously asked her visitor. "Sleeping," Leonhart simply told her, voice going back to the dull monotone. "Oh," she replied, smiling a little. She should have known he would have done something like that. Squall caught Marianne's little smile, and didn't understand, but ignored it.

In monitoring them both, through Marianne's eyes, Bahamut felt like he could relax through this. For once, Squall wasn't intimidating her or causing her to be tense, afraid or angry. This was good. Quezacotl's plan was working. Maybe, in time, the two would get to know each other and form a bond of trust. It seemed to be a high possibility. _"Quezacotl, like you, knows Squall too well,"_ he told Marianne. She acknowledged this, but didn't feel like responding. 

From there, Marianne had fallen silent for a moment. She felt a tiny bit better in knowing for sure that Squall would do all he could to be of help.

Squall, on the other hand, felt like he was just warming up. His curiosity had gotten the better of him now. "So, if we manage to get you back to Earth, what does that make us?" Realizing on what he was on about, Marianne quickly replied, "You guys could come on Earth with me and stay there. You don't have to…" She trailed off, knowing that Squall knew he didn't like the concept of being created for someone else's entertainment. "Besides, I'd need help in defeating Edea…" A sad sigh escaped from her lips. _Right, he doesn't know the total truth on Edea. Only half of it…_

Like the Headmaster, Cid Kramer, Marianne knew that Edea wasn't always…evil. She used to be the caretaker at that orphanage Squall and the others grew up in. _Matron…_ Yes, of course. Squall and company had addressed her by "Matron." _This is really depressing,_ she thought.

"Squall, there's also something else you don't know about the sorceress. Of who she was before, I mean…" Leonhart's attention never left her. "…What do you mean by that?" The sigh and frown on her face made him feel a slight dread on what was to be explained. "She wasn't always like that…" Looking into his eyes, Marianne questioned, "Do you remember…the woman who organized the orphanage you stayed in?"

There was a startled reaction. It was truly freaky and strange over this whole thing that Squall has learned about. _She used to see us as fictional game characters after all… It's all just sick…_ He was going to get have to get used to her. Shaking her head in guilt, she added, "Sorry…" Abruptly, Squall bit back on the shockwave he felt and focused on answering her question. "…I think so, but I've always addressed her as Matron, but not by her name." Remembering, his mind drifted off into another place for a moment. _She was such a compassionate person…_

Quezacotl helped a bit by bringing the memory that he was struggling to remember. The thunderbird showed him an image of Edea before she became a sorceress. Long brown hair. A caring, loving face with brown eyes. She sort of looked like Rinoa.

The idea shocked him whole. No, Edea couldn't be… "Are you saying that Sorceress Edea was Matron?" The tone of Leonhart's voice was deadly serious. He didn't want to believe it. "Depressing, isn't it?" she said, tone of voice sounding like she was depressed. Squall sat back in his chair, taken back by all of what has been mentioned on Edea. First, on Marianne, bringing her here and switching places. Then he found out she was married to Cid. And now the third puzzle piece.

"A truly twisted human being," Marianne confirmed. "Although it's not her fault. It's…Ultimecia's." _Ultimecia,_ the name repeated in young man's mind. _The sorceress from the future._

Then, the two had heard someone come in. It was Dr. Kowadaki. "Oh, good morning Squall," she said. "Congratulations on your promotion." She seemed oblivious for a moment as to wonder why Squall was visiting Marianne. She noticed the tension between the two, yesterday afternoon. Well, then she returned back to normal.

Squall had ignored the comment as Kowadaki asked, "Why are you here?" He began to stand up, knowing that Marianne had to fill her part of the bargain. Actually, he said the line for her. "I was just leaving…" he said, returning to the stone faced persona. "I found a few of her things left by Sorceress Edea, and brought them to her." With a shrug, he furthermore said, "She also asked for ice, so I gave it to her."

After that, he said nothing more. Leonhart moved the chair back to his original spot, and left the Infirmary without looking back. He didn't hear her say anything to make him halt in his footsteps, so it must have been what was exactly planned.

Cueing to the good doctor, Marianne heard her state in sympathy, "It must be so difficult for you. Being away from home like this, I mean…" She silently nodded in response, remaining depressed when letting Squall know of Edea's former life. Her tears were long gone, but she still missed her parents and hated having to miss the National Theatre Festival.

Kowadaki had a tray of breakfast food with her. Orange juice, toast, and eggs. "I've brought you some breakfast," she told her gently while placing the tray on her desk that was clean of paperwork. She left briefly to get a small table for Marianne to eat upon. After everything was set up for her, she began to eat.


	17. Friendly Visitors, Depressed Patient

****

I like the humor in this chapter. This is just another rarity in between all the angst, suspense, and freakiness that's yet to come.

Lyrics are by Duran Duran. A song called "What Happens Tomorrow" off of their awesome new album, Astronaut.

Chapter 17: Friendly Visitors, Depressed Patient

****

Child, don't you worry…

It's enough you're growing up in such a hurry…

He knew that she wasn't very hungry, but Bahamut didn't need to tell her twice to eat something. So fast too, he's grown fond of this mortal. Quickly looking past what she explained, like Zell, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, and Squall's GF, Quezacotl, Bahamut had to do it, or else Marianne would act the total opposite, being at constant discomfort. He knows that he can scare others if he loses his temper. But if he remained to act like a sour puss when he first was told to be Marianne's assigned life partner and guardian, there would just be no peace in her state of mind. And one of the SeeDs would have to draw him out.

In synchronization with feeling all of Marianne's thoughts and feelings and head pain, Bahamut knew she was going through a very difficult time. It would take at least a little while until she finally adjusts to staying in Gala until a solution was found in going to Earth. Deep down within the depression, there was a little bit of hope. Squall had begun to encourage her to hang in there. Bahamut was thankful, and grateful for that. Maybe Marianne's line of thinking was true. It was possible that Leonhart could visit her again. Most likely to check on Marianne from time to time, but not make conversation.

But still… He had to try to say something of comfort. Like Squall, he didn't want to give false hope, but there was a big difference. Bahamut was a lot more open hearted than Leonhart was. He didn't treat Marianne any different, like all the other humans that walked upon Gala's earth.

Slowly, Marianne ate. Usually she was such a speedy eater, but with her self esteem lowered with a massive wave of depression and homesickness, she felt there was no hurry over anything. She took a few bites of scrambled egg, discovering that the usual seasoning was missing. Her taste buds practically failed to take her mind off of anything, making the food more tasteless.

"Doctor K.?" she heard her own voice croak in a hoarse voice. Not too much of a surprise. This was probably the result of waking up and from crying for some time. Kowadaki was sitting at her desk, on the computer. She looked to Marianne. "Yes?" "Could I have some salt, please?" she asked, being calm and polite. Dr. Kowadaki shook her head slowly. The young woman from Earth was a little disappointed in hearing her say, "No sodium until you're free to go." Kowadaki heard her patient sigh. "I'm sorry, but it's a rule over here," she apologized. Marianne looked at her dully and almost mumbled the next statement. "I think Earth has that rule too…"

The patient went back to eating. Bahamut felt this was the time to say something, but had to approach gently and keep his voice low so he wouldn't startle her. _"Fate can be so cruel sometimes."_ _Yeah, and it must have been my lucky day to go through all this,_ his life partner snapped back at him in sarcasm. The dragon inside her mind knew better than to take that seriously. It wasn't like she was accusing him of anything. _"Just listen to what I have to tell you, my friend,"_ Bahamut suggested. Giving up on eating the eggs, Marianne went to the toast, that had been buttered. Thank God for that, and the orange juice. She loved orange juice. She'd live off of that to wake up back at her home world, over coffee. While she consumed them, Bahamut continued, knowing for sure she was at undivided attention.

****

Brings you down, the news they sell ya.

To put in your mind that all mankind is a failure…

__

"We all need you to hold on and let us try to help you… I'm speaking for all my sibling Guardians, Squall, Seifer, Selphie, Irvine, Zell, Quistis, Mother Hyne, and your God. As you know, not all is lost." Like Marianne, Bahamut fought as hard as he could through the pain in her head. He silently hoped that pretty soon she would lie back down with the ice, numbing the aching down._ "There's still a chance. Slim, yes, but something."_ With superstition, Marianne had to put in her thoughts. _Please, just don't say 'even if all hope is lost, you could always stay here,' or something like that. It just hurts too much to think about it._ _"I wasn't going to say that, because I know it's something that you do not want to hear at all. I'm inside your mind for Hyne's sake,"_ her assigned GF countered.

****

But nobody knows…what's gonna happen tomorrow.

We try not to show…how frightened we are…

I'll try all I can. I know all I can do is pray. The two felt her eyes start to water again as she finished the rest of her breakfast, but the eggs, and laid back down on the bed. _I'll try all I can to stay sane._ Marianne felt Bahamut's concern as she heard his voice be a gentle and soothing one. _"That is basically all I ask. I'm glad we have great understanding between us. I'm also glad in getting to know you. You're a very good hearted person, Marianne. Smart, humorous… And I know you have a bit of an ego too…"_ This caused her to smile a bit, and almost start snickering. _So I'm not alone with that, huh._ Bahamut softly chuckled in reaction. _"No, you are not."_ The smile didn't last long, because of the pain they both felt in her head. He could also hear her mind call for a brand of aspirin that worked for her on Earth.

Aleve…Aleve… Man, I could sure use a couple pills of that right now. She had to ask him. _Is there any aspirin or pain killer of any kind around here on Gala?_ _"Yes, and I think Dr. Kowadaki will get you some pretty soon." Thank GOD…_ He couldn't resist smiling. Marianne couldn't see it, but could feel his emotions of amusement.

Sure enough, the good doctor brought over a glass of water and two small pills. "Take these." Kowadaki suggested. "It'll help numb the pain a little." "Thank you," Marianne whispered in relief and took them without any complaints or hesitation. Then she laid back down on the bed, resting her burned out and dried red eyes, but didn't go to sleep. Until she would receive anymore visitors, she laid back down on the bed, holding her dog plush close to her. It would only be a matter of time before she gets anymore visitors…

****

If you let me, I'll protect you, however I can…

You've got to believe… It'll be alright in the end…

You've got to believe… It'll be alright again…

The loud buzzer of Almasy's alarm clock had been going off for a while now. He finally was awake and not passed out in bed. Hitting the snooze button, Seifer almost wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew he was late enough. He knew from the other four times that if he didn't make it as a SeeD, he'd have to remain in those boring classrooms and be re-taught all over again.

Why not just make today a skip day? He could always start classes tomorrow. Besides, he could use a break after all he's been through. That late afternoon through all night at Deling, the long drive back to Balamb, the two fights against the nasty NORG and those nastier Oilboyles…

Almasy lifted the light blue sheets off of him and sat up on the mattress to see his room mate, Rajin, occasionally snoring. He shook his head smiling and called to him, "Raj, RAJ! Get up."

As far as Seifer was concerned, the two did a lot of things together since they were both thirteen years of age. Pick on lower life forms, fish, catch people running in the halls, snacking and chilling out during break, and throw little paper projectiles and food wrappers across the classrooms they attended while supposed to be learning something. Often they got in trouble together for doing little, repetitive stuff like projectile tossing in class, and bullying others. People like them would be considered as "dorks" in Marianne's labeling of immature people. She's known a small handful of boys like that throughout most of her life in school back on Earth.

The darker tone skinned Rajin woke up and saw who was speaking to him. He seemed surprised. "Oh, hey Seif. What's up?" Quirking a light colored eyebrow, Almasy replied, "Oh, I could say the same thing. Where were you last night? Where was Fujin?" "I thought you had detention, man… After one of those robot faculty dudes was asking about you, I'd figure the Headmaster would make you sit through detention again, for sure." What was he, fucking drunk?! Had he not heard the announcements Kramer had made?!

****

Fighting, because we're so close

There are times we punish those who we need the most…

"Rajin… Where… the hell… were you?" Almasy demanded of his friend, who seemed to have a head as thick as a melon. And at times like this, he'd figure to talk slowly, so that the moron would get what he was asking of him. Rajin seemed aware of how serious he was acting and held up both hands, showing his palms to Seifer. "Whoa, don't panic, ya know?! Fujin and I went to Balamb Town to do some fishin', alright?" _Oh, well that explains a lot of things,_ he thought, while settling down indeed and went up to his dresser drawer by the wall to change.

"And…we weren't over there for long, unfortunately," Rajin continued while Almasy was pulling pieces of clothing out of the drawers and tossing them on the bed carelessly behind him. The blonde halted and faced his darker skinned friend. "What do you mean?" He stood there, in just his red boxers from which Selphie had given to him the other night. "Heh heh, are those new?" chuckled Rajin, noticing. In a heartbeat, Seifer jumped over his bed and gripped his friend's neck with both hands. "And just WHAT do you mean by THAT?" he fumed, ready to break Rajin's vocal chords any second. "Are you a fuckin' queer or something?!" "N-No, it's n-nothing S-Seifer! It's j-just that you look g-good in red boxers! Honest!" the other stuttered, and with that Seifer had let him go.

****

No we can't wait for a savior

We have ourselves to blame for this behavior…

"Uh huh… Since when did you start caring about that?" Almasy said dryly, hardly believing his friends words. "Anyway… Continue." Clearing his throat and regaining his senses, Seifer's best friend besides Fujin did as he was told. "There were some G-Army soldiers walking into town yesterday afternoon, so Fuj and I ran, ya know?" "Shit," Almasy softly cursed under his breath. "Is something wrong, man?" Rajin wondered, partially concerned. The easily angered blonde pulled over a black T-Shirt which had white stenciled capital words on the front that read: "YOU GET THE GEAR. I'LL DO EVERYTHING ELSE." One of his favorite shirts, because it represented a major part of himself. He liked being the authority, not falling under it and following anybody. This time, he just wasn't himself, and Rajin has noticed it ever since yesterday morning in the Deling hotel's lounge area. When Marianne had gotten sick from being under stress so much.

And during the entire time, Seifer could feel Leviathan's presence. He could feel his water dragon Guardian Force's emotions of disgust. _"Your behavior is rather indecent. …I could say the same thing for your friend, Rajin,"_ Leviathan commented. _Oh yeah? Well, Marianne gave YOU to ME, so you'll just have to live with it,_ Seifer told him in response. This was indeed true. This was just how Almasy's lifestyle was. It wasn't at all like Marianne's mind and behavior was, which was much more toned down than this, but Leviathan had to bite back on it and fulfill her wishes. He was doing this for her, of being in debt to her kindness and for rescuing him.

While Seifer continued getting dressed, he talked. "Yeah man. Shit, Marianne was so right all along! The G-Army assholes have been suspicious since the other night as to where their precious, but fuckin' cowardly leader went." "Uh oh, not good, ya know?" Rajin responded, almost as displeased as Almasy was to know about this. "So, you and Fujin made it out okay?" he wondered, after quickly getting into some clean briefs and a pair of tan baggy pants. "Yeah, made it outta there without a scratch, ya know?" answered Rajin, also starting to get dressed himself. His shirt was a dark blue, with a light blue outline of a dragonfly on the front. The rest of his outer casual wear were white shorts and neon green flip-flops.

There was a short period of awkward silence between the two. Rajin glanced to his buddy. Seifer shrugged his shoulders and seated himself down on the mattress of his bed. _Marianne must feel miserable over there in that sick bed. Hey, maybe I'll get her a doughnut or something…_ "Seifer?" He looked to his friend, who looked like he was really worried about him acting so differently lately. "Yeah, I'm okay. I was just thinkin' of getting Marianne a doughnut and paying a visit." "Yeah, that sounds like a cool idea, ya know?" With a smile, Seifer offered, "Want to come with me?" Rajin smiled back. "Sure."

And since Seifer was in a good mood this morning, he let Rajin have the shower first. Besides, Rajin had been told by him to not ever take a long time. Just get the shower, brush your teeth, shave. Whatever else can be taken care of while outside of the bathroom.

On the way to the cafeteria to fetch a doughnut or whatever Almasy saw fit to give to the supposedly depressed girl in the Infirmary, they didn't wonder about Fujin's whereabouts. Most likely she was in class, waiting for them. Sure, she was loyal to the posse, but she _cared_ about her education. Surely, she didn't want to be dumb like that moronic Rajin.

Seifer was in luck, because as he suspected, there were still doughnuts leftover in the lunch area. The junior classroom of the Garden milled around, picking what they wanted for breakfast. He grabbed and wrapped up a white sugared doughnut and two other kinds for him and Rajin.

Towards the infirmary, they scarfed down their breakfast. "Hey, it's a real nice idea of givin' her somethin', ya know?" "Yeah…" Almasy answered, dismal and empathetic. The horrors of that night in Deling City have never really left his, or anyone else's minds present. And it had to suck so bad in being in such a situation like Marianne's. It's been a long time since he ever felt sorry for someone in general.

The two couldn't help but notice Squall Leonhart, making his way to the main lobby elevator. _Hey look, it's Puberty Boy,_ Almasy sneered to himself and did a mock salute in his direction. "Hey Squall!" Rajin called to him. "Or should we call you Commander from now on?" Seifer said, with a grin. The only response they received was the trademark response. A scowl. Seifer found it funny every time. Rajin, the moron he was at times, wouldn't have a clue why his best friend did, but laughed along with him to just play along.

__

I don't know what Marianne would see in those two. They're still morons to me, Leonhart mulled to himself in getting onto the elevator. _"People change, Squall,"_ Quezacotl replied gently. He dismissed his Guardian, having enough of him for the morning, as he pressed the button for the top floor and rode the elevator slowly upward…

****

And nobody knows…what's gonna happen tomorrow

We try not to show…how frightened we are…

The infirmary doors swung open as Marianne turned her head to see Seifer and Rajin enter. "Hey," she softly called to them, her tone of voice breathy and not really happy sounding. "Seifer brought you a doughnut, ya know?" Rajin blurted, to Almasy's dismay, but it didn't bother him much. "Yeah," he said, relaxed grin. "Thanks. I'll have it later… I just had some breakfast," said the one in bed. Bahamut sighed in her head. _"You most certainly didn't have enough of it, I'm afraid."_ Marianne didn't feel like replying, and focused on the visitors instead.

"How are ya feelin'?" Seifer asked, pulling the chair from the far wall and moving it to sit close to the sick bed. The very same one Squall sat in. "Miserable," she sighed, honestly feeling that way. "You'll be outta here in a few days or so, ya know? And it's not that bad on the injuries is it?" Rajin blabbed, trying to cheer her up. Marianne smiled upon the darker skinned young man. She wished it was only that, but he couldn't know all she knew.

"I popped an artery once in the Training Center, but Thank-" "Rajin. Shut up." Almasy slowly told his main companion. "He's only trying to help," Marianne said to the blonde, not minding at all if Rajin talked to his heart's desire. Feeling she could use something to focus off the pain she's been having. "Yeah man. I want to get to know her too, ya know?" This brought Seifer's attention. Both sets of eyes were focused on Rajin, but he wasn't the slightest bit nervous. "I admit, I was a bit jealous by all the attention you were givin' to her, Seif. I'm alright with it now." He looked upon the newcomer and gently patted her hand. Marianne held onto his hand, welcoming him with all the sincerity she could give. "So, treating her all nice, like you do… I figure she's gotta be cool like you, ya know?"

__

It has to suck, being so far from home, came a thought through Rajin's usually thick head, but he has never been totally stupid over anything.

Marianne didn't want to focus on about missing National Theatre Festival anymore. Rajin provided at least a temporary escape from that. She knew Seifer was deeply concerned for her, and it was just best off for the two not to know about it, for now.

Almasy noticed the dog plush she had. "Hey, did someone come in here before us?" he wondered. "Yeah, Squall, but he didn't stay long at all." Marianne said, making the sound of her voice let him know that it wasn't a big deal. She respected Leonhart and understood him, so she wasn't going to rat out on the oath she promised him at anytime soon. "The sorceress dropped off a few more of my things." Seifer's kind expression slowly turned into a look of contempt.

The chance to escape from this unending and heart wrenching nightmare had been blown. This was the second time now that Sorceress Edea had transported her things from Earth to Gala. Seifer's blood boiled in receiving the new information. "Oh, NOT cool! Not cool at all," Rajin said in Marianne's defense. "Why'd she have to do this to you anyway, ya know?"

Leviathan cautioned, _"Self control, if you don't want to blow your cover around Rajin."_ Being reminded of this, Seifer fought down his anger to a minimum, pretending not to know the reason behind Edea's intentions. "And, how is she managing to bring your stuff over here?" Rajin continued, oblivious to the look on Almasy's face. "Does it take a lot of magic power or somethin'?" "I guess…" Marianne replied softly, never taking her eyes off Seifer as she saw that angry look. Then she looked away.

Seifer looked to Marianne, gripping onto her hand closest to him. Dr. Kowadaki, sitting at her desk, stood up and walked over to everyone else. She didn't want to intrude, since it was best for Marianne to chat with some friendly faces. There was only a job for her to do, in cleaning off the table, and moving it back to its original place. Seifer and Rajin got out of the way, chair included.

Almasy sighed and bit back on his anger, as Rajin kept on with the talking. "It's got to be scary, being brought over here without knowing what's goin' on, ya know? I'd shit my own pants if I was teleported from here to some totally different place." He stepped back to standing right beside the bed, once the table had been removed from being up against the wall. Marianne looked to both Seifer and Rajin, who both had moved back to their original spots nearby.

****

It would seem lonely, if you were the only star in the night…

"Rajin," Marianne called to the darker skinned guy. "Yeah?" he automatically responded. She took hold of his hand again, and softly pleaded, "Don't tell everyone else about my situation, okay? Just cover it up that I'm just another orphan like you guys…" Hating every minute of this, a part of her heart ached to shed some more tears upon this matter.

"I'll do it," Rajin said, confident on keeping this a secret. He strongly felt he could, and so did Marianne. Unlike Seifer, she had faith in Rajin to do this. Almasy watched his friend kneel down to her eye level. "Your secret's safe with me, ya know?" Through his dark brown eyes, Marianne could just feel the sympathy. There was just a gut feeling of pity coming from Rajin. It couldn't be helped.

Seifer _sort of_ felt that Rajin was being honest and truthful, but had to get this promise clear into his head. "Raj, say anything at all about this, and you're a dead man," he warned, deadly serious. Rajin silently gulped, knowing what Seifer could do, and silently nodded. "You have my word, guys," he said, looking towards the both of them.

Changing the subject, Almasy asked Marianne if she needed anything. "No, it's alright," she assured him. "The aspirin's helping me out a little." Everyone within the resting area heard the doors slide open again. Quistis walked inside, holding a small white mug in her hands.

"Shouldn't you two be in class? You just missed homeroom," Trepe told Seifer and Rajin. "Yeah, we should go, ya know? Fujin's waitin' on us, Seif." Almasy calmly got up, having no choice. A skip day it wasn't going to be after all. He quickly hid away his concerned feelings with a smug attitude. "Aw, but can't we have just one break?" Quistis smiled and shook her head, not believing Seifer's actions. _I know how much he cares about Marianne. He can't hide that from me._

"Go on. Get to class," Trepe told them, gesturing towards the Infirmary's exit. "Heh, busted…" Marianne said mischievously, with a smile. With one hand, Quistis covered her mouth to suppress some giggles. Seifer looked over his shoulder towards Marianne, smirking, then followed Rajin out the way they came in.

Walking over to take Almasy's seat, Trepe said, "You seem to be feeling a little better." "Yeah, aspirin's starting to kick in," Marianne informed her as she felt the pain dimming down some. She and Bahamut altogether felt relieved.

****

You've got to believe…it'll be alright in the end…

You've got to believe…it'll be alright again…

The new visitor took a sip of her coffee and relaxed as well. Trepe's eyes looked upon Marianne's face. Her eyes were bloodshot red, possibly due to crying or lack of sleep. The rest of her form seemed relax, and not tense for once. And Quistis couldn't feel anything _but_ sympathetic. A part of her heart winced in remembering all that was said a while back, but knew she shouldn't be pointing any fingers. It's not a crime not to know if someone, or a completely different world created by Marianne's, for instance, could exist.

Trepe didn't see Marianne cross the middle and index finger of her left hand together. It was a secret and silent hope, on Rajin keeping his word, because she was in a pretty vulnerable state of mind, and physical health condition. And it sucked…so bad…

Marianne was brought to attention from her miserable line of thinking by seeing Quistis touch her Beanie Buddy husky. She saw her smile softly, and heard her say, "Heh. That's cute. …I don't think that's what Selphie bought for you last night though. It was a teddy bear." The sound of her voice made Marianne figure that she was curious about that.

She was right. "Did somebody else give you that?" The response was a slow one. "…No," she replied to Quistis, and just told her the truth without a problem. "Squall came by, finding some more of my things. Then he left." She saw Trepe's eyes open a little wider. That was no surprise to her. "The sorceress dropped off more of your things then, huh?" A little sigh escaped from the beautiful woman's lips. "I can't imagine how else you feel about this. Other than scared and upset." With a dry laugh, Marianne commented, "That's basically it." _Other than depressed_, she added, privately to herself. Bahamut, of course, heard that, but didn't feel the need to say anything. He just wanted Quistis to help ease her mind on all that was going on.

Marianne decided that for a time, she wasn't going to be the center of attention. She hated feeling miserable like this, so changing the subject to more friendly terms was the best choice. "How have you been? Other than, you know, the stuff about me," she said, passing the ball of attention to Trepe's court. Quistis wasn't expecting that, but smiled just the same and answered the best she could. "I'm alright I guess." It was a start of a normal conversation.

Marianne hoped in her mind that all her worries would just dim for a while. Being depressed all day would just not be of any help of cope. She needed to just focus on getting better, for starters. And comfort was definitely needed.


	18. Dispute and a Mission on the Side

****

So sorry for putting this fic on hold for so long! I've been focusing on other writing projects, and some of them are on hold now. I'm actually glad to be writing more of this again. Woo, it's going all wrong for my character and her pals so quickly! The suspense!

Lyrics: "Anticipation" by Chevelle, off their first album, Point #1

Chapter 18: Dispute and a Mission on the Side

****

This anticipation, seen in you…

In between leaving the main lobby and arriving on Cid Kramer's floor, Squall had a minute or two to think on what he was doing. Helping someone he knew so little about, that came from a world that created him and the world he's known most of his life. How very twisted his adventures of a career in SeeD have become.

He tried not to think about Earth and how they create, for he would confuse himself. But he couldn't help but ponder on the last mental debate he's had with himself. Quezacotl couldn't help to not ignore. So, if this were a game, what would happen if the "player" or "user" would have won? Would he relive these experiences? Would he remember or lose all memories of what he's learned what he wasn't officially supposed to know? It was torture for any kind of human mind to ever exist. To learn that your life is a form of entertainment.

For a moment, he considered that maybe Marianne would know the answers, but no. She didn't even know from before that Gala, nor he, existed. _"Have you ever thought of what she may be feeling?"_ Quezacotl asked Leonhart in private. _"About, her questions of having to be inside this 'game world' as she would call it? I know all of this sounds so complicated and confusing, but consider those thoughts. See both sides to this equation, for once."_

Squall's guardian made that advisement just before the new SeeD Commander walked up to the door to the Headmaster's office. Reluctantly taking Quezacotl's suggestion into consideration, he gave a polite set of knocks on one of the giant wooden doors. It was expected that Cid would be awake by the time classes would start. It was now past 11 AM within Balamb Garden's facility.

Kramer was awake, but wasn't fully focused on the door knocking. He was in his rotating chair on wheels, facing the big window behind his desk. A Thrustaevis had just flown past his vision. Magnificent creatures, in his opinion. Sure, they were to be avoided at close range, but the supposed monsters from Gala's moon have adapted to this world's climates and atmosphere. They were born to roam, fly, and swim on this world. Hybrid looking things, yes, but that didn't mean that they shouldn't be admired in some way.

There comes a time in every person's life that they wish they could fly. Not like in a plane, but like a bird. To soar the skies and feel the warm pillars of hot air to lift you higher and higher until everything you knew below looked like something a child would play with. Cid Kramer, make no exception about him. The Thrustaevis had more than one set of wings, for attacking purposes, and for speedy flight. Watching the animal in action never got too dull for his taste.

This was only temporary daydreaming to get away from the harsh reality he's learned of yesterday afternoon.

After a slight pause, a second set of light knocks were heard from the other side of the office doors. Getting up, Kramer walked over and opened one of them to reveal his new assigned Commander of Balamb Garden. There was a very stern look on the young man's face.

"Ah, good morning Squall," Kramer said, half of his usual self. The other half of himself was shrouded in dread in upon Leonhart's arrival. It wasn't like him to make a visit. Something was going on, for sure. A silent nod was given to the older man in response. From then on, for Squall, this was to be serious business.

"Do you know where this Dr. Odine may be in Esthar? I want to take two others with me to find him." _Yes, Esthar,_ Cid confirmed as he shook head no. "I cannot let you leave. You're the Commander for Hyne knows how long, and there might be a time when we'll go under a crisis. I need you to lead everyone, Squall."

****

As you prepare for new life, don't forget your war…

Leonhart scowled, automatically in response. He wasn't giving up that easily. He came straight from the infirmary to Kramer's office, determined to help this girl himself. A part of him was so anti-hero, but another part of him was the opposite. The two seem to be always at conflict.

"Talk to someone who cares!" Squall snapped, to Cid's surprise. "I never wanted to be Commander in the first place…" His eyes produced an icy stare, and felt like leaving. Right away.

Calm and level headed, the Headmaster took what was told into something to backfire at Leonhart. "Squall, there's something you should know. It's what I've been receiving over the news. That poor young girl, along with Seifer, Zell, Selphie, Quistis, Irvine, and you, are _wanted_ by the Galbadian government."

****

He takes that side… Lets you know…

What's in his speech?

This stopped Squall in his tracks. Shock spread all over his features. _What!_ Cid continued onward, knowing that this had caught hold of his attention. "They don't know who Marianne really is of course, but suspected that she's been a civilian on treason to the disappearance...of the sorceress" He had a grim half smile on his face, just thinking back on what he read in this morning's issue of the Balamb Times newspaper. Squall noticed that Cid hadn't said the sorceress's name, but didn't question him about it. "Quite silly, isn't it?" He sighed and added, "Please do not let this out to anyone else about this. Just between us, I suspect that the Galbadians have tracked your group down. There were some soldiers in Balamb Town last night."

The newly appointed commander of Garden mentally cursed to himself. The only G-Army soldier they've come into contact with was during the other night, on the way to the Deling Hotel. _ It all just passed us, off guard. Shit._ "Remember what I've told you yesterday afternoon?" Kramer persisted. If Squall wasn't going to do his job as Commander, then who would? He knew Quistis would fail. NORG was sadly right, on her leadership qualities. Squall had suggested her to be the commander instead of him, if he remembered clearly. "You are the only one I can rely on, and if the Galbadians decide to strike here, then…" He looked away, not wanting to say the horrible possibility.

****

Hands cover face! Oh, what's in his?

Squall's hard stare had come back, knowing that he was forced to feel some more guilt upon his actions of refusal. Especially in raising his voice at the old man who knows best in keeping Balamb Garden's facility safe and strong. _It's just not fair._ "I know you don't want this, but you've got to protect this Garden. For all of the children, students, and staff. For the young woman who's in possible danger." Mr. Kramer sounded deadly serious in those words.

You cover your… face, face, face, face…

__

My life isn't just my own anymore, is it? Squall thought in partial despair, and partial frustration. _"You shouldn't think like that, Squall,"_ offered Quezacotl. The thunderbird felt bad for his assigned life partner, being pushed around like this. But everything was at risk. _"You're just helping everyone out in another way."_ The solution to Leonhart's problem on going to Esthar arrived. _ "If you cannot go, send off the others. I'm sure Quistis can take care as a substitute leader. …If you feel she is a good leader, then have her be in charge of the mission."_

Squall had no choice but to follow his Guardian Force's advice, but he was still not any happier when Headmaster Cid first said no to him. "Then send Quistis, Zell, and Selphie to Esthar at least. I know they can carry through and find Dr. Odine." Cid easily obliged to this request. _It's practically a simple assignment. I know Quistis enough to not fail in this one. _ "Shall I announce them into my office, or will you?"

Leonhart hesitated, at first. He didn't feel comfortable about going up to the microphone on the table, behind and to the left of Mr. Kramer's desk. But he would only have to call their names, right? He would only have to call on those who he worked with as a team, on that night at Deling… "I'll do it," he said dully, and walked up to the table.

Kramer understood Squall's attitude toward what he's told him yesterday evening, but he had to push him up to the task. If there was anyone better than or as good as Squall, he would pick someone else. Leonhart was the only official SeeD to be a gunblade specialist and that graduated, to which Kramer has been very proud of. The best of the best. There was just no way for Seifer to be a commander, and Squall knew this too. Almasy's just too rambunctious.

****

Now you're anticipating, what went wrong?

This world you fall back into…just isn't strong…

His eyes watched Squall press the button before speaking into the microphone. The three high and pleasant musical notes did their cue. It always happened whenever Cid or anyone else had to use the intercom. "Quistis, Zell, and Selphie: This is Squall. I need you here in the Headmaster's office." Kramer's heart of gold hated all of this. The Galbadians, Marianne's situation on what the sorceress within his beloved wife had done, and having no other choice than Squall Leonhart to lead Balamb Garden when he clearly doesn't want to. But he had to suppress back the heartache and carry on. He was doing what was best for everyone, and not for single lives alone.

"Xu," Cid called into a black telephone on his desk, holding down on a button. "Get me another cup of coffee please." "Yes sir! Right away." A pleasant and young feminine voice replied through the other side. The Headmaster took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. _I sure hope that Marianne won't find out about this situation. Hyne, please…_

There spread a scared silence from within the Infirmary, on the main floor. Shock and worry flooded throughout Marianne's body. Zell and Quistis, standing beside her hospital bed, concerned. They've just found out this morning on what Kramer had shared with Squall. Zell read the article aloud to Marianne and Quistis. He came racing into the room when the two young women were in the middle of a conversation. Just talking about casual things. Whether or not Quistis was still an instructor (to which Marianne suspected, probably not), and the classes and schedule in Garden. A little bit about what Marianne went through in her school days. It was a start in conversation anyway, until Zell came running. He was so surprised and ticked off at the same time, raving about what was mentioned in the newspaper he had tucked under his arm.

Now a part of Marianne wished she hadn't heard the frightening news. She was sitting up in bed, looking towards him and Trepe. "We're in big, _big_ trouble, aren't we?" She had to ask, to the concerned faces of two of her new circle of friends and allies. Her voice had almost gone to a whisper too. Fear had been inserted into her heart and mind again. Bahamut, didn't like dealing with it. Even HE didn't know the answer to her question. Well, from being inside of her mind and not watching on everyone in the clouds above, he couldn't know. Bahamut managed to stay calm in telling her, _"It's just a misunderstanding with them, Marianne. You and I both know that they don't know what you know about the sorceress, leaving…"_ The understanding dragon hoped that would clear Marianne's confusion some. Quistis and Zell, however, didn't know what to think.

"We don't know, but we're not gonna let the G-Army get us. Not a chance," Zell told Marianne, holding the newspaper down by his side, in one hand. He sat down in the chair beside the bed. Marianne nodded, knowing that he and the others would protect her. Bahamut knew this as well. In observation, before having to first junction to Marianne, he saw Marianne do what she had to do. Even Squall was forced to realize that she was just as human as them. "Zell is right," Quistis told Marianne in reassurance. "Nothing is going to happen." Just as puzzled as Marianne was feeling, she thought out loud, "Although I can't imagine what they would want with you. I can only guess that it's nothing good." Marianne nodded in silence, facing her. "R-Right," she stammered, feeling a bit shaken up. It's not easy finding out you're wanted by the enemies of Balamb Garden. Not easy being brought into an alternate reality against your own will overall. Nothing felt easy for her at this time.

__

"Calm down," her Guardian Force spoke, in gentle words. _" Don't think about it too hard, or else you'll end up over reacting."_ And she was calming down, lying herself back down on the bed, hoping her headaches wouldn't return any soon, with the fractured cranium and all. Which is partly why he wished Marianne to calm down. They were both at the same level of misery whenever her head would hurt.

"…How's the head?" Dincht asked, trying to decently change the subject and to push the problem aside for now. It was sort of foolish of him to just go and tell her the news, but he couldn't hold it back. On the positive side, it was good that he told Marianne right away. It just wasn't the best time either. She shifted her eyes towards Zell. "Took a couple pain killer pills. They're working fine."

"Quistis, Zell, and Selphie: This is Squall. I need you here in the Headmaster's office," boomed the intercom, all throughout Balamb Garden. Zell felt a little confused, and from the seriousness from Squall's voice, there was concern too. "Hm, I wonder what that's about," Trepe said, also curious to know what Squall wanted. "We gotta go," Zell told Marianne. "Yup, I know." she said, sounding a little depressed in having to be alone inside the Infirmary again. "We'll come right back after we've been briefed, alright?" said Quistis. Marianne just nodded and watched as they left…

"I'll catch ya later!" Selphie called to a group of teens. Possibly friends of hers, or committee members of plans for the Garden Festival. Sure, she was plenty worried about Marianne as well as Zell and Quistis were, when they visited her. She just needed her mind to be eased a little bit. She needed that positive energy to face her again, without feeling sad. Last night, before going to bed, she was feeling sad for her. It's just pretty much impossible to forget Marianne's situation, and what they've learned about themselves and this world they grew up in.

"Quistis, Zell, and Selphie: This is Squall. I need you here in the Headmaster's office." Brought to attention, Selphie was in the lobby, about to have brunch in the cafeteria. Now that late breakfast was going to have to wait, as she headed towards the elevator.

She came out of the quad, checking in and occupying her mind with the Balamb Garden Festival Committee. No one was present in the little office room just past the entrance to the quad, but she went in to look things over, and tidy up the mess at the table in front. This room was also used for selling tickets for the different events that go on throughout a year in Garden, from plays to theme dances.

****

What's in his speech? Hands cover face!

Oh, what's in his?

You cover your…

Zell and Quistis were coming by, walking fast, so Timlitt held the glass doors open for them. "Good morning," she said brightly. "Not so good of a morning, actually," Zell began to say, as he scratched the back of his head. Selphie turned her attention to Zell as Quistis pressed in the number code to Cid Kramer's office.

Everyone who lived in Balamb Garden would know of this code, as well as to the other codes to the first and second floors. The kids under seven would not receive it though, since they spent most of their time on the first floor and didn't go to the classrooms until after their seventh birthday. If it were important to go to Kramer's office, an adult or responsible teenager would accompany the child, punching in the number code for them.

"Hm? What's the matter?" wondered Selphie. Zell, still holding the newspaper, handed it to her. It was on the front page, in big bold capital letters: BALAMB'S SEEDS ARE MAIN SUSPECTS… From there, she began to read the article just after Quistis pressed the enter key on the control pad:

__

"On the night of Deling City's ceremonial parade for Galbadia's new leader, many witnesses had sighted two Iguions running in the streets and massacring the crowds. The wall of Deling's Gate collapsed after chasing their victims: a group of SeeD officers from Balamb Garden. They rescued a young woman, a civilian from the rubble. She is wanted with the rest of the trespassers for possible treason. Very little information on the girl is known.

A soldier of the Galbadian army had interrogated them that night on their way to the local hotel. One of the SeeDs had told the Galbadian Elite soldier--Vicktar Lionel--that they were going to get the perpetrator cleaned up. According to his reports, she had been severely bruised and bloodied.

The Galbadian army and government are currently on investigation as to finding the traitors linked to the disappearance of the world's new leader, Sorceress Edea…"

The elevator stopped. Selphie had read enough of the article anyway. It was enough to know why Zell spoke to her not so cheerily. This was seriously troubling news. Especially for Marianne, since the article mentioned a lot about her…

In walking on the top floor, the large and painted wooden doors to Cid's office were open. Normally, they would be closed. The trio walked through, noticing Squall leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. He didn't look happy… Nope, but more mad and he was pouting. To Selphie and everyone else, he always pouted! She's only just met him, and wondered why a guy like him was always so…serious and shut off all the time.

Once everyone was inside, Squall moved to close the doors. He didn't want any others nearby to overhear the mission. Zell and Quistis took a seat. Selphie was standing by the desk, dropping the newspaper, front page up, so the Headmaster could see. Kramer rubbed two fingers around his eyebrows, his blue eyes expressing sadness. "…I take it you know what's going on," he said, pointing out the obvious. And he felt as if Marianne already knew, but he had to ask. "Does Marianne know of this?" "Yes," Quistis said for all three who just arrived. "Why?"

Squall watched as Kramer shook his head, saying, "Don't worry about it. I just thought she was better off not knowing about this." Squall secretly felt otherwise, his eyes lowering to the floor in thought. Better to get the bad news now than later, before it's too late. _The Galbadians obviously don't have a clue of who they're dealing with,_ he silently thought. He had to make sure that Marianne wouldn't be captured by those damn political, power hungry idiots. It could be the end of her life, possibly never to return to Earth again. _But why the hell would I care…?_ Why even put this mission together if he didn't care about this girl, who was still basically a stranger to him? To do it for her? For the others?

"Squall, are you ready?" Squall snapped to attention by the sound of the Headmaster's voice, and pressed his arms against the wall to push himself off from the previous leaning position. It was time to describe the mission to Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Timlitt. "I need the three of you to go find Dr. Odine, on Esthar." _"Also, they should go to the Pandora space station, to see if the astronomers there could_ _locate Earth,"_ his Guardian Force said helpfully. Squall repeated Quezacotl's words exactly, thinking that was a smart thing to do.

"The Galbadians might be looking for us, so we should arm ourselves," Quistis told Zell and Selphie, who sat in between the two. Zell in the chair on her right, and Selphie was on her left, still on her feet. "They could either kill us or capture us alive," Zell agreed, sitting back in his chair, arms crossed. "That would be a real bummer," Selphie said, with an unsettling feeling in her stomach. "We should probably leave now," Trepe said. "We won't let you down, Squall!" Timlitt, of course. She forced herself to remain cheery and positive, or else they'd know that something was bothering her.

"Dismissed," Leonhart said, knowing there wasn't really anything else to discuss. He knew that they knew what to do. Watching his selected comrades leave, he remained with Kramer. "Now, do you see what you have to do?" asked the Headmaster. Squall nodded. He talked, mainly to himself to prepare for the serious and possible threat ahead. "They know where Balamb Garden is, no doubt. I have to gather the well trained and those who are already SeeDs." "Let them know that there may be a possible attack," Cid encouraged, followed by a sad sigh. "You might as well tell them about the newspaper article, if the word hasn't fully spread out by now…" With this, Squall went to the intercom, announcing for the well trained and awaiting SeeDs to go down to the quad and meet him there.

Squall dismissed himself from the office, and waited for the elevator to come up. Zell, Selphie, and Quistis were going to stock up on magic, potions, or whatever it was that they needed. They would be gone for some time. Squall felt that they would be fine. What mainly troubled him were about the Galbadians. It was most likely that they would try to invade Balamb Garden. To find him. To find Marianne. To find Quistis. The others… If he didn't come up with a strategy soon, they might as well all be dead!

__

Ding! The elevator came, the high pitched sound pleasantly letting Squall know that he could go in, jab in the code, and descend to the first floor. Commander Leonhart, accepting the title for just this once, this time, knew a lot of things. He grew up here. So many people at risk. So many lives to be responsible for. He wished he wasn't so alone in this all of a sudden, but there was no choice. No time to argue with the Headmaster. Only time to plan a strategy of defense…

"Wait, can't we say goodbye to Marianne first!" Selphie pleaded to Quistis, who immediately took charge of the three-person-team. It didn't take them time at all to get what they needed. Some Gil, potions, antidotes, anything and everything in case they'd run into any fiends that roamed all throughout the planet of Gala. This world used to be the only one they knew of, that populated human beings. Now they knew a bit of Earth, with Sorceress Edea there. The Galbadians thought _they_ had her. Hyne, they were so wrong.

"Yes, a quick goodbye should be alright," Trepe gently told her. She wanted to tell her goodbye too. That they may be gone for a while, but there wasn't going to be any worrying. Marianne would have plenty of company to cope with. Bahamut, in her mind, too.

Selphie suddenly remembered something, yelled, "Be right back!" and ran towards the dorms, to her room. She held onto the things that she and Quistis had bought for Marianne last night. Now would be a good time to give them to her.

Zell and Quistis already went to the infirmary. "So, what did Squall want to speak with you about?" asked Marianne, who seemed to have waited for them to come back. "We gotta go to Esthar. To talk to the astronomers, and find Odine," Zell explained, not happy about leaving her. She nodded, Dincht and her both recalling that these were her suggestions.

Slowly, the Earth girl sat up. "We may be gone for a while," Quistis said. "It's a long trip." "I know," Marianne said, looking to them both. A moment later, Selphie came dashing in, holding a couple of small green paper bags. "Almost forgot to give you these," Timlitt said, in catching her breath.

Marianne took the bags and set them on the floor. She felt scared for them. "…Be careful out there, alright?" she said, the rising tension in her voice. "We will," Quistis said as Marianne and Selphie exchanged a warm hug goodbye. "You focus on getting better!" the short and bright girl said to Marianne, with a wink. "Don't worry 'bout us. We'll be fine."

Trepe felt bad about leaving, for they were just getting to know one another. It was kind of sad to have their friendly conversation cut short. They would have to continue later. She was the next one to hug Marianne goodbye. "Good luck," Quistis heard her say as they let go of each other.

Zell, like Squall, worried about those damn Galbadians. Marianne looked like she was going to cry again when they embraced. "The sooner we straighten out Sorceress Edea's fuckin' mess, the better," he said for everyone. "Bye…" Marianne said softly, exchanging glances of concern between her friends.

As she watched them leave, the girl left alone, once again, laid down on the bed. Silently, she closed her eyes and prayed for them to find Odine okay, located how far Earth may be from Gala (if possible), and that they'd make a safe return.

As for Bahamut, he listened to those prayers, knowing everything was going wrong so quickly. He hoped that his life partner's plans would turn out for the better. An attack on Balamb Garden would be a very traumatic experience for this human.


	19. Planning Ahead

****

Back to the Galbadians! YAY! A new major original character too! He's got potential. I plan to put him in the plot at least two more times. Overall: my original characters in the G-Army ROCK! Enough said.

A whole lot is going on currently, can't ya tell? Whew, this chapter's the longest one I think. So far, anyway. About 12 pages on Microsoft Word. Yeah, I know. Holy crap…

Lyrics: "Still Running" by Chevelle, off of their album, This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)! It's an awesome song, one of my favorites from them. THANK YOU CHEVELLE! For they're so inspiring. The lyrics just fit in conveniently in this chapter, I believe!

Chapter 19: Planning Ahead

****

Along, you support.

Then embrace another reason to see…

Throughout the evening while Squall was promoted as a Garden Commander, a bit of activity was going on at the G-Army's new and temporary headquarters at the Deling City Bank.

Nathaniel Boone, the G-Army's top quality hacker, had volunteered to slip into the Balamb Garden's computer network to check out their suspects' students records. With all the few options they had, with the embarrassment in front of the government when Wedge called the head governor of their country (which ended up in the newspapers by now), and frustration in the search of their still missing worldwide leader, it was best to know much about the enemy as they possibly could.

Boone was around twenty-five. His dirt-blond hair was short, with a few long bangs, which were recently cut short to be at length above the eyebrows by a couple inches. A good soldier doesn't hide his eyes from his superiors. A soldier also isn't supposed to skip out on any opportunities when he sees one, and isn't supposed to hide any of their abilities either, no matter how good or bad.

His eyes were hazel. A small silver earring hoop was worn on one earlobe. If anyone took a look at this man, they'd think he was eighteen, and looked more of a rockstar type than a military type. Boone looked like a kid, but he wasn't to be underestimated with. Wedge and Biggs didn't know that, but they would soon find out by tomorrow.

The only awake man in the entire bank had been trying his hardest to hack into the firewall, which was a strong and good firewall. One by one, he was going through his many methods to get the needed information for the current commanders, Wedge and Biggs, by dawn tomorrow morning. Boone just opened up his mouth and talked about it, and then he was given a test. If he failed, he would get demoted for sure. When given the assignment to look into Balamb's student records of the names and photos printed out on two pieces of plain white paper, Boone went straight to work.

Ever since in his early teens, he'd go to the online networks of his favorite radio stations and TV stations to hack in his requests. Often, he'd get grounded from a week up to a month by his parents. Boone never let up though. He kept at it, developing his skills and just knew the precise timing and which keys to push. Developed codes and programs and saved them onto floppy disks. Saved his allowance to buy more than a handful of floppy A's. It was an art, a special gift he discovered. Throughout his youth, he got away with easily owning the internet on Gala. It was his very own virtual playground.

Boone was then shipped off to the Galbadian military years later by his stern and strict mother and father, hoping they would discipline him from his criminal acts. Unfortunately, they were wrong. The G-Army welcomed Boone's gift, and best of all, he was getting _paid_ for it.

On his fifth cup of coffee for the night, he kept going through his old disks he's kept hiding from his damn family for years. Once a week, he'd change the hiding places, so that good old mom and dad wouldn't even notice he's had this stash. He made sure to pack them up to, knowing that they'd probably come in handy. _Gee, thanks Mom and Dad_, Boone thought to himself sarcastically, recalling the memories of what felt like a lifetime ago. _I never knew you actually cared to shove my gift over to the army._ Only, he knew better. His father kept pressing into his head about this military thing changing him "for the better." That they make him think twice and "get a life" as he insulted. Yeah, right.

In his spare time when not having to check and assemble weaponry and other stupid labor work like that, he'd always develop something new. Viruses of any sort, and encrypted codes. No one would take this pleasure away from him. Boone could get whatever he wanted, when he wanted, and not have to pay a thing, really. His share of salary was that of a low rank, and it wasn't satisfying enough to buy some new clothes and food he could just heat up in the microwave and scarf down on the go to his next assignment. So, he saved that Gil until he'd had enough to get those necessities. Everything else he cheated online to get the rest for free, using other people's bank accounts and credit card numbers to get all sorts of things: knick knacks, expensive collectables of the movies and shows on television when growing up… He's done that for years.

__

It's alright, Boone thought calmly while going through the next ten programs, codes, and viruses to launch into the BalambGarden-dot-net homepage. _We got all night._ Honestly, there wasn't anything this prodigy could not break through. The disk "Project Overdrive" could break down most firewalls, but these guys were good. He was impressed, and that hardly ever happened when it came down to the security systems. Moving it aside, he picked up a green floppy A, that had the next label, written in marker. "Apocalypse." Not one of his newest projects, but an old one that was good on some security systems. Mostly chewing them up, bit by bit, and spitting them out. It was no surprise that this creation wasn't working. The problem was that Boone never go to writing the dates on these. No, he never thought of it. Too busy coming up with one crafty computer hacker's dream after another.

3 AM in the morning, and Boone was slightly getting agitated with this complicated system. These Balamb Garden people must have thought of everything. As if they didn't have anything better to do in their spare time. The page remained the same, a window appearing with having to type in a username and password. Hyne Almighty! Boone should've gotten in by the first two hours! …But that's okay. There was still time. Plenty of time. Every other half hour or so, Boone had to go make more coffee or use the men's restroom, the public one in the lobby. The employee's one was locked, and not by computer. By under old fashioned lock and key. It was closer than the public one. Boone didn't receive that key during the night, as promised. The elite that promised it was a real jackass anyway. What was his name? Lionel? Yeah, that same suck up kissing President Deling's (before he died) ass, who found and let those kids get away…

__

I'm going to find you, kids. I'm going to find out who you little scumbags are. And I'll make sure to be there when we march over and arrest your sorry asses, and there's nothing you can do to stop me, Boone thought, smirking as he sipped his seventh cup of coffee with one hand, and taking in disks, typing, and pulling out the failures with the other hand. A human machine, running non-stop.

He decided to volunteer for not only the thrill. He liked Wedge and Biggs from observation. These guys didn't take crap from anybody, just like him. Most of the soldiers, the lower ranks in particular, bored him. Like that goody-two-shoes Cole Jackson. From first glance, already he didn't like that kid. He took whatever those elite ranks told him to do, and not complain. How could he not complain of having the job of moving boxes around on the streets? Why not ask for a little action for once in a while?

Socially, Boone was a loner. He's been that way for a long time, but didn't care. He'd gotten picked on and pushed around in some private school, flunking and dropping out. Before he joined the welcoming G-Army, he'd used to work at a supermarket, bagging the food for the lazy ass excuses for people who wouldn't bag the food themselves. What a lousy salary too…

"C'mon, c'mon…" Boone silently prayed that he'd be in way before the sun started to wake up. It's been hours since past the time he'd started, a little past 10 PM. He had to get into those records. He had to get the information, needed it. Or else he'd kiss his chances of being an Elite Soldier goodbye…in reluctance.

This one peculiar disk had done it. Finally! He was getting in. It was a very old, very simple programmable virus that worked as a scrambler, to make easy passes without having to try to guess the username and password. "Searching…" read the message window of one of the more modern programs. It would spread out into small Trojan Horses, scramble the system, and automatically fetch back any information that was needed to get into a full thoroughly built security system. Hah, the irony of it. Something so complex to be broken down by something so simple.

****

Success, we unfold.

Clutching firm,…betting he panics for sure.

"EXECUTE?" read the next message box on the computer monitor. Yes, oh yes, Boone wanted to execute. _Yes,_ he exclaimed silently within himself. _No one messes with Nathan Boone!_ _Balamb Garden: nice try…_ Pleased with himself, Boone picked up one of the papers, examining the photos and names. One picture was a sketch instead of a photo, and only a first name was written down next to it. A "Marianne." Just who was this girl? Huh…oh well. He decided to look her up last.

He started with Seifer Almasy, easily finding his ID number and records. This guy looked like he owned anyone with the smirk on his face. Boone could've been just like him, if he hadn't ended up where he was. Two years ago he vandalized a car and got caught for it. _Heh, busted._ He kept reading, and found out that some people must care about him for bailing him out of jail over night. He printed all the information out, amused.

Quistis Trepe. An instructor by the age of fifteen, but fired a few years later do to being too emotional and having a difficult time in controlling some of her students. Especially Seifer Almasy. _So, what's an ex-teacher like you doing with him? And why did those Garden screw ups let you be one at such a young age?_ He didn't get it. Sure, this Quistis could've been a nice girl. She looked hot too. Too bad that she was on the wrong side. He printed her records out.

Selphie Timlitt. A member of the Garden Festival Committee, whatever the hell that was, exactly. Boone wouldn't know, for he never attended a Garden. He just went straight to the army by the age of twenty, since he was a little old to be registering to Galbadia Garden. Only ages five to eighteen were allowed to register. Selphie was the head of this "committee" and part of various other activities he really didn't give a shit about. A goody-two-shoes, just like Cole Jackson, only this short chick was way more active. A pure workaholic. Wouldn't they make a sweet couple, though? He didn't understand this girl either. _Hell, it's none of my business anyway. Just do your job, soldier._ Baffled and starting to get tired, be printed Selphie's records out.

Next, was Zell Dincht. Martial arts expert, huh? He couldn't karate Boone's ass when he'd have a gun up to his head. Another decent kid, so it seemed. Dincht went into a bit of trouble through his semesters for a time, flunking. The possibility, according to what the staff put down, was because of the loss of his grandfather. Oh yeah, boo hoo, like he cared. Sighing, he went to file, moved the mouse down to print and went on to the next kid on the wanted list.

Irvine Kinneas… Whoa, this guy was a traitor! The alarms were ringing in Boone's head as he found out Irvine was taught to be a sharp shooter in Galbadia Garden. He woke up a little that moment. What the hell made this guy join the enemy? Some kind of bargain? _Doesn't matter,_ he told himself, not letting his curiosity get the better of him. Click, print, done.

Last was Squall Leonhart. Like Seifer, he knew how to wield a gunblade. He passed as a SeeD. A recent update that perked Boone's interest though: he was just given the task to be the Garden's Commander. This guy had to be good then, if they wanted somebody like Mr. Squall Leonhart. In contrast to Seifer, he did as he was told. Didn't do much in after school activities but train and build up. An anti-social, just like Boone? Probably… _I'd like to see the surprised look on your face when we take you down,_ he mused to himself, grinning.

Absent mindedly, he yawned, leaned back in his chair, staring down at the girl with no last name, who's face was sketched out. He checked the clock on the wall near the door to the office he's spent so much time in. Still early, very early. Still plenty of time to find out about this person.

In the search box, he typed in "Marianne". There were about five matches, and he checked each of them out. One was four years old, so no, exclude that kid out. Probably would grow up to be another runt among the other SeeDs that took time in intervening with everyone's business. Pathetic. A bunch of children hired to play war. It was a joke.

****

Say it, say it, that it's done.

I want it, want it, need it done.

Say it, say it, that it's done.

I want it, want it, need it done…

Another one on the list looked too young. The other three weren't even close to matching the accurately detailed sketch. This Marianne had no records. _She must be the most badass of them all,_ Boone started to think. No ID number. No social security number. No previous criminal records, driver's license, library card or any identification of any kind. All of that would be on file in Balamb's student records. Damn, she was good, _really_ good. Wedge and Biggs would agree when seeing this by the time the sun rose. But the rest of her friends were found. How fucking careless of Marianne, to be so brilliant in hiding herself alone from everyone. Maybe she didn't really give a damn about them. Maybe she only cared about herself. Careless, nonetheless, and all this information he snatched would only get herself a death sentence.

__

Marianne here doesn't look so tough, on the sketch. She didn't look so bad, more like scared. Yeah, this girl was scared. She had to know her time was up or something. Perhaps taking desperate measures to get far away from the others as far as possible and lie low until all suspicion blows over. _Not going to work,_ Boone silently spoke to the sketched face of the G-Army's most prime suspect. _You'll suffer, just like the rest of your little group._ _Either way, Sorceress Edea will be found._

Boone raised his arms over his head, stretching the muscles, then rubbed a hand over his day old stubble. Not so rough, but in a few days, he'd shave again. Boone didn't like beards. He felt he wouldn't look as good with one. Same thing went with mustaches. Maybe, when he got a little older, those feelings may change. Maybe.

__

Easy money, he thought as he scribbled down below the girl's name, handwritten in cursive with a ball point pen, Boone found that same pen on the table he sat in front of, by the computer in a cup. He grabbed it, wrote a little message in print, and stood out of his chair, yawning. His job was done, and now it was time for some shut eye. He walked a mile back to Deling City, using his ID card to get in, and used the elevator to get to the third floor. His apartment was among those rooms. Thinking of nothing but sleep, Boone felt he'd get some well deserved rest, knowing that commanders Wedge and Biggs would be impressed with the results he found. A small, tired smile formed across his face as he _knew_ that he was just a few hours away to getting a high rank. He had high hopes for becoming an Elite…

Much later, after Boone retired from his overtime assignment, the sun had cautiously began to rise over horizon on the west, as if Gala's big day star knew that the G-Army were more worse now when push came to shove. Long before Edea ever existed, President Deling liked power, and lots of it. He wanted to have claim over the rural towns and cities that weren't under the law of the good willed Esthar government. It was when Sorceress Edea had decided to do some drastic action and persuasion to help President Deling fulfill his goals, because it was all part of her old plan… before the lightning storm incident happened.

Slowly, the light from the sun touched the small city, bringing the sparkle onto the shiny buildings. The sunlight began to touch and produce warmth on the streets to give the soaring birds of prey (be it a normal bird or a hybrid mutant) to ride the thermals. The early newspapermen began to rise and deliver the Deling City newspaper, _The World's View_. Other people awoke inside their homes, and kissed their wives, husbands, and children goodbye as they put on their work clothes and went out to ride the public transport buses to their destinations.

The buses were the most common way to travel, mostly because it never cost even one Gil to go anywhere within the city. Lots of people lived in Deling, and the bus idea had been President Deling's as a perk to make peace with the Galbadian capitol's citizens. It worked. No one had to bother getting a car, unless they wanted to.

The Galbadian soldiers, a large number of them, occupied most of the Deling hotel, low rankers and Elites mixed in. This was the reason why there was only one free room available to Marianne, Seifer, and the rest of her new found friends on the first night that Marianne spent on Gala. When they left, that one room wasn't so available anymore. Four more soldiers, one low rank and three Elite Soldiers, lived there now.

One room on the second floor was where the young and dedicated low ranked soldier, Cole Jackson, slept. Charlie also lived on this floor, but he was down the hall from his apartment. That didn't mean he had the entire room to himself, though. One other low ranker guy shared the room with him. Without much problems, Cole and his room mate, Ted Griffith, got along fine. Ted was a silent type, but not aloof or stoic like Squall Leonhart was, at Balamb Garden, the home of their enemies, to which Cole didn't know of. Ted was a kind man, and just didn't have a lot to say.

Late into the night, Jackson talked to Griffith about how loathing it was to be on duty as a lookout in the army. Most of the time, it was dull, except for a few occasional monster sightings. What kind of man, young or old, would want to just stand around in his boots for hours on end, to watch and guard a place like Deling City for the wanted criminals? Sure, there were Charlie Etchinson and Ahab Strater in his usual squad, but they weren't in much of a talking mood yesterday. Both had stayed up late cleaning up Deling's Gate on the night before the previous one. …Yeah, Ted was a good listener. A good friend.

The flat, box shaped alarm clock went off beside Cole's bed, the local oldies radio station blaring into his eardrums. If anyone from Marianne's home planet heard the fast paced, and light hearted song, the male vocalist to them would sound similar to James Brown.

__

"Early in the morning, I strap on my shoes! Boundin' down the stairs like a lovin' fool! Blow me a kiss, and I'll blow one back at you! Gotta get to work and-" Cole groaned softly and interrupted the loud singer by hitting the snooze button. His head seemed to pound to the rhythm of the tune, and the red numbers showed the boy that it was a minute past 7 AM. Dim sunlight broke through the window blinds, illuminating the now quiet apartment. But not totally silent, for Griffith was snoring in the background.

Cole sat up on the bed, and absent mindedly moved a hand through his messy short brown hair, which stuck out in some places, then slid out of bed. He headed to the bathroom and splashed cold water over his eyelids, blinded by the light on the ceiling. The early riser blinked his sky blue eyes several times to adjust, because it helped. If he didn't do this routine, he'd end up tripping over himself, causing a scene in front of Ted, or an Elite Soldier if he happened to come over and knock to bark out his next assignment or the same one for the day.

Awake, Jackson slapped a hand on his room mate's back, the usual. He always did this, and was his friend's alarm clock. Ted had been known to be a heavy sleeper. If there were gunshots echoing in the air with sirens blaring, he'd still be asleep without anyone to splash cold water on his back or something. Not that he appreciated the cold water method, though. "Hm, what? Oh, time to get up?" Griffith asked, at first startled, then getting the point quickly. "That's right. We're supposed to report to the bank today," Cole informed him. "Yeah," the other soldier replied, then got up to stretch and yawn. His stale morning breath escaped and the smell reached Cole's nostrils. "Um… You can go on ahead and brush your teeth, man," the younger of the two men said, waving away the odor with one hand. "Alright…" he said, still waking up.

Ted was older than Cole, about twenty. For a man at an age like that, the room mate was a quite calm and placid soldier. Cole found it odd, because the life of a soldier is anything but calm. He'd always have to have a bit adrenaline flow through his body almost every minute, because he'd never really be sure when a fiendish beast or the SeeD enemies would appear.

****

The lie… Want to know…

Has it met expectations so far?

As Cole threw a plain white T-shirt and a brown cloth jacket on the unmade bed he slept in, he began to think about those SeeD youths he heard Strater and Charlie talk about yesterday. Cole's only been in the army officially for a few months, and so far he never really thought about them. Knowing very little, but from what his comrade and superior were talking about, they had to be some kind of strong unit. Did the SeeD group let loose those Iguions the other night? Later after the parade, a frightened low ranked soldier suspected that the Iguions used to be two of the humongous statues on a building as a decoration in the city, and came to life (to which Cole found hard to believe, for the guy wasn't thinking clearly). It _had_ to be his theory, or otherwise Edea wouldn't have gone missing, and the monsters wouldn't be there. The parade wouldn't have ended so horribly. Oh yes, the boy knew and witnessed that.

People screaming, running from their lives as the Iguions stomped through the streets as their big cat clawed hind feet squashed and gored some of the crowd like bugs, and shredded through the abandoned the display platforms. Cole remembered how fresh his fear was, as he felt his own skin go cold and clammy. He remembered fleeing as fast as he could from the scene, one Elite Soldier (couldn't remember which one) yelling and raging at Jackson to haul his ass outta there…

Drifting away from those memories, Cole pulled out a pair of light gray socks, briefs, and blue jeans from the dresser drawers, which the alarm clock was set on top of its wooden surface. Agitated, he quickly changed out of his old casual clothes he wore from yesterday. This morning, hopefully, the commanders that took charge of the army's massive problem, Head Commander and Lieutenant Elite Wedge, with low ranker Major Biggs, would find out what they'd know about those bastards. …Wasn't Boone supposed to hack into their records or something? That's what he'd heard Boone's room mate say to his friend. Yeah, for Boone was the only good computer hacker out of, well, everyone in the Galbadian Army. Well, that's what Jackson had been told.

Cole knew Boone as some kind of loner. When he first saw the guy and tried to say a hello, he'd get a scowl in return. Boone never liked talking to his fellow low rankers for some reason. It was like he wanted to get promoted as quickly as possible. He'd hear him complain about the labor work from time to time, and grumble about the Elites being the kings of the military. Whatever his problem was, Jackson kept in mind to steer clear of Boone, most of the time. It wasn't like he disliked the man, like how Boone seemed to dislike him. There was just uncomforting vibes that Cole felt.

He found his black and white sneakers, and put them on before getting into his jacket. Cole liked that jacket a lot, and didn't want to stretch it too much, such as bending over to tie his shoes. It fit him comfortably, and kept him warm in chilly weather. The back of it had big black and white wings, black along the top, and white along the ending individual feathers. A jacket he'd bought and had for a couple years.

When Cole seemed ready, he grabbed a dark brown plastic comb from next to the alarm clock and ran it through his hair a few times. He'd have to use the bathroom to brush his teeth, whenever Ted was done brushing his teeth and longish black hair. His superiors would have to make sure Griffith would cut off the rockstar styling hair down to where it would be tolerable and not get in the way in case of a battle or whatnot.

It didn't take too much longer, as the boy went in to check to see if he didn't have anymore bed hair, and brush his teeth, once Ted Griffith had finished. A soldier choosing to look presentable and at his best was a good one. "It's all yours," Griffith said calmly, still feeling a little weary. "I'll meet you there, at the bank's lobby," Cole said, as Griffith nodded. The man needed to be awake and alert. He needed a cup of coffee. A little tired himself, the friendly younger man would be sure to fix himself a cup as well…

How's Caraway doing?" Wedge asked his friend and fellow Elite ranker, Hobbs. By the night of the horrific disaster of the parade, Caraway was found, not cooperating much. The old general was angry, claiming that the G-Army have lost their minds! That Sorceress Edea was evil! He was acting hostile and very strangely. He tried to assault his fellow officers! Even the guard at the gates couldn't find out what the hell the matter was with him. Lt. Vicktar Lionel sent a couple of low ranks to watch over General Caraway, or "babysit" him, within his own mansion. If it were anybody that was losing his mind, it would be old man Caraway, at age thirty-seven.

"He's calm and quiet, ever since Lionel told the low ranks that told him that he was never allowed to leave his home," reported Hobbs. Wedge nodded. It seemed good enough. Sending him to the nearby Deling City jailhouse seemed too harsh. "Is there any reason why sir?" the lower Elite asked. "Nope. Just wonderin'," Wedge assured him, and he smiled. It was true. Caraway was the very least of their problems now. "There's free coffee and pastries over at the bank," Wedge kindly offered. "Sounds fun," Hobbs replied, respectful and kind in return. These two gentlemen were always formal on their duties. Neither caused problems with the other. "Good, good," Wedge approved, and started to engage conversation.

"So, how's the wife?" "…Haven't got a chance to call her last night," Hobbs responded as they walked side by side on a sidewalk, on their way to the Deling City Bank. "But I know she knows I'm fine," Hobbs finished.

They kept on talking, laughing occasionally at whatever jokes were made.

As for Major Biggs? Well, he was already at the bank, lounging on one of the lobby's big couches, sipping coffee from a small paper cup. He was waiting for Wedge, so that soon they'd go into the office they picked for a base of operations. Biggs was anxious to know if that Boone kid found anything or not about those SeeDs. He _said_ that he could hack into Balamb Garden's security to get onto their records. Especially on the mystery kid. Marianne…something… Lt. Lionel didn't catch the last name when one of her fellow comrades tried to comfort her. That was alright though, for he wasn't there at Dollet. Lionel didn't know these kids were the same ones that tried to mess up their plans with the communication tower.

Stupid kids, Biggs thought as he sat back, holding his cup of coffee in one hand. When he thought back at what happened at the small rural town of Dollet, he felt ticked. Ticked like at anytime soon, he'd explode. But usually, Wedge would be the one to calm him down. …Thinking about the SeeDs some more, he didn't remember seeing that girl from before. Wedge thought what Lionel thought: that this Marianne girl was a civilian betraying her country. Treasonous little bitch. _We'll see who she really is… Very, very soon._

By the next few moments, Wedge came in the door, walking in with Intelligence Elite Hobbs, as he could tell by his face. Hobbs was in his late twenties, like him, and had silver highlights mixed in with his dark brown hair. His olive green eyes saw Biggs and acknowledged him in a nod while separating ways from Wedge. Biggs stiffly waved with his free hand.

This morning, there was no need to change into their uniforms just yet. This was a morning to just relax for a while. To "take a load off," as his partner Lt. Wedge put it. Wedge was always dressed formally anyway, as far as Biggs could remember. In a light gray suit with a metallic blue tie. It showed his age, which he was in his late thirties. Biggs himself was only twenty-nine. He wasn't dressed too casually, and not quite as formal as Wedge looked either. Black leather shoes were flat on the floor, tied neatly. The rest of Biggs' non-uniform attire were brown corduroy pants and a dark green button up shirt.

"Good morning, sir," Biggs said, tossing the empty paper cup in the nearby waste basket, and stood up to salute him. Wedge saluted back. "I guess you're looking forward to Boone's results as I am," Biggs' friend and equal in this leadership stated. "You know it," Biggs said somewhat eagerly, but kept calm. If he were too eager, then Wedge would think something was wrong with Major Biggs. There was no reason to get over excited about this. It could be possible that Boone would find nothing, and the excited energy would just be wasted.

"I'm getting some coffee first," Wedge told him. "Sure," Biggs said, not having a problem with that. "Go on ahead. It's good stuff." His friend smiled a small smile, then turned to head up to the coffee maker, jerking his head for Biggs to follow. He did.

Wedge greeted every other casually dressed Galbadian soldier as he passed. This time, the head Elite of all was in a good mood, which was great. Maybe from the confidence in Boone's voice in doing what he wanted to do made him feel good. Wedge took in his honest words. Biggs did not, and _he_ was the one to demote Boone to the lowest of low rankers if he failed. Hopefully the kid found something. Maybe even about that shaken up girl on treason Lionel described to them yesterday.

Carrying his hot cup of coffee, Wedge and Biggs walked to the office they took for themselves. Boone didn't need to be there, because the results would do just fine. The door was left open. The sun through the glass windows rose a little higher, so there was no need to flick the nearby wall light switch. The computer was turned off, and in a messy pile beside it, were more than two papers, it looked like.

Biggs walked over and looked at the papers. He picked up the page with a photo of the kid with the longish brown hair and scar on his face. His expression was stony and glaring all at once. Squall Leonhart. Wedge saw the photo and name, recognizing _that _boy too well, but by the time Biggs held the paper close to his chest, Wedge couldn't see the other printed words. "Commander, huh?" Biggs mused as Wedge immediately snatched the paper from his grip. Squall was seventeen, had a gunblade for a weapon, and as he skimmed on what he did in his studies…he immediately found what perked his partner's interest. _"Updated June 18th, 2004: After bravely and heroically saving Balamb Garden from NORG and an out of control T-Rexaur in the Training Center, he was promoted to Commander by Cid Kramer."_

"Here's the records on Seifer Almasy," Biggs told him blankly, handing him the paper. Like Squall, Seifer had an identical scar. At first, Wedge began to wonder why but quickly dismissed that as an irrelevant issue. Also, like Leonhart, he had a gunblade for a weapon. Equally matched, but was a poor student. No surprise, or else he wouldn't have vandalized that poor old man's black car that night, two years ago in this very city.

"Dammit!" Biggs yelled tersely, all of a sudden. Wedge, looked up, and followed Biggs' gaze to the second page of two that they handed to Boone. Their assigned one for the job seemed to have handwritten down the following message in decent print: _"Still no last name. No social security number, student ID number, or any identification of any kind."_

"Biggs," Wedge said, placing a comforting hand on his comrade's shoulder. "Let it go. We have her friends, so that's good enough for us." The Elite felt the man's shoulders sag a little, not as tensed up for the moment. "Yeah, you're right. We'll get what we need through her, if we see her, or through her friends if we capture them," Biggs elaborated calmly. "Right, right," Wedge said, hand sliding off his friend's hands as they looked into the student records of the rest of the group Lt. Lionel had encountered.

About two minutes later, the two leaders of the G-Army sat next to one another. By then, Wedge had finished his coffee, dropping the empty paper cup into the nearest trash bin within the office. Placing his hands together, Wedge went over what the two have known about their primary suspects of the world.

"First, we encountered some of those kids at our repairing mission that President Deling assigned us at Dollet, so he could do his worldwide TV broadcast." "Mr. Leonhart, Mr. Dincht, Ms. Timlitt, and that lowlife, Mr. Almasy," Biggs cut in, being helpful in his own way. "Right," Wedge said, and continued. "Then, they were at Deling City, on the night of the ceremony to welcome our new leader, who has now 'disappeared', according to Intelligence Elite Hobbs." Biggs nodded, agreeing to that statement. "Lionel, after the Deling City Gate collapses and kills the Iguions all at one time, saw the same kids at Dollet, with a few others. Ms. Trepe, Mr. Kinneas-" "The Galbadian student turning against us," hissed Biggs, cutting Wedge off, then apologizing, "Sorry. Go on…" "…And our most conspicuous suspect, Marianne with the no last name." "No identification at all," Biggs agreed, his eyebrows narrowing, and his mouth pressed into a thin line. "The others must be disposable to her." Wedge nodded. "She's good." "_Really_ good," Biggs agreed.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Biggs asked the Elite all too eagerly. "Attack Balamb Garden?" Wedge shrugged, in a mix of dead seriousness and peaceful calmness at the same time. "They're not going to turn themselves in anytime soon. The SeeDs have done more than enough to make the government aggravated." "Let's launch the attack right now!" blurted Biggs, jerking out of his seat.

****

SAY IT, SAY IT, THAT IT'S DONE!

I WANT IT, WANT IT, NEED IT DONE!

SAY IT, SAY IT, THAT IT'S DONE!

I WANT IT, WANT IT, NEED IT DONE…

It was hard to explain why these two were friends. This baffled most of the entire Galbadian Army. There were some big differences in between the two. Major Biggs was always quick to act, without being too thorough, knowing a huge threat when he knew all about it. Wedge was always so calm. These SeeDs were as insignificant to him as the ground underneath his shoes.

Wedge yanked Biggs back down in his seat. "Not yet, you idiot," he scowled, inches in front of the fellow commander's face. "If we strike too quickly, then the SeeDs would be overly cautious later if they escaped." "They WON'T escape," Biggs started to say, and Wedge gripped onto his friend's shoulders, firmly. "Let's be rational about this. We need to fully plan through this, so we'll have our little gang of criminals surrounded. We'll make the big strike on their precious base of operations when they least expect it. But first, we must start with something small." He released Biggs, and blew out a breath of air, as if he'd been holding his breath for a long time…

Cole Jackson found a member of his squad, Charlie Etchinson. Elite Strater couldn't be seen, so Cole must've missed him. Charlie didn't either, and I guess that's why Cole found him wearing the kind of cool clothes he'd wear sometimes. Baggy dark green pants, and a black music band T-Shirt over a long white sleeve were obviously seen. What Etchinson first wore when he arrived to join the army.

"So, did Strater tell you anything last night?" Charlie asked the brighter, other lower ranker that Strater treated with too much regard. Cole was Elite Ahab Strater's right hand man, or so Charlie himself thought. That old man would tell Cole anything that would go around between all the other Elites. The soldiers in red armor knew _everything_ that would go between commanders Wedge and Biggs, who's leading their main objective: to find Sorceress Edea.

"No, but Boone's room mate, Jagger, since he's an Elite…he told me Boone was assigned to hack into the SeeD kids' records." Etchinson nodded, as Cole faced him with this news. "Did he find anything?" The sixteen year old shrugged. "I don't know. We'll find out soon, right?"

Charlie didn't respond, and continued to finish his breakfast. He would've preferred eggs, sausage, and bacon over a pastry, but it was fine. He didn't mind, as long as he had something to eat. Maybe he'd have time to eat a more heartier meal, before he had to go back to his apartment to change into his army uniform.

"Well, I know something's up," Etchinson told Jackson in suspicion. "Normally, this shit wouldn't be happening. Some superior's in a good mood today." Cole shrugged again, caring less it seemed. "So? We take whatever good that's hurled at us," he said.

Cole was naïve, but lucky. He just had more luck than him. He envied his friend, that he'd get some promotion or whatever from Strater, for sure. Yeah, he busted his ass doing whatever he had to do, but Charlie wasn't going up on the G-Army rankings anytime soon. Lionel was the reason why. Etchinson despised that son of a bitch. He thinks he's so tough and full of authority. Hated the nickname mostly everyone calls him. "Brick Sack." Charlie wanted to kick his ass for the degrading he's been given, and perhaps he'd get that day, when Lionel was alone, like he was in that alley, the night when the Deling City Parade fell to utter disaster…

__

Y'know what? Don't think about Bastard Lionel today. Just take whatever good is hurled, Charlie told himself silently, taking and holding onto Cole's words. If he wasn't so cool and level headed, and friendly to Charlie, then Jackson would've been right under Lionel on his list, for having the upper hand with the Elites.

"Alright soldiers, I want you at attention right now!" boomed a voice. Some Elite Soldier, no doubt. He began to call some soldier's names, a man dressed in a faded green grey long sleeve shirt. His hair was styled as a buzz cut. His skin was dark brown. "Devaz! Holden! Etchinson!" Charlie snapped to attention, swallowing the rest of the jelly pastry he was devouring. His shoulders squared, feet equally apart. His eyes followed the Elite rank as he yelled one more last name. Carson. Gary Carson. He didn't know that soldier, not really, but only saw him while working with him in carrying heavy crates of weapons, transported to Deling City by ship.

"Well, good luck man," Cole said, knowing what Charlie knew was going to be an important mission. Etchinson bit back on the anger, knowing that he would be made fun of by most of the small troop that was going to be formed. They'd laugh, laughing and going haw-haw-haw at the stupid moron who tried to be a smartass towards everyone. He was only a rookie back then, but hardly anyone but Cole never let that go. Charlie didn't even meet Cole Jackson until about several weeks back, when Cole and him were put together with Strater as a squad. Charlie was basically hating the world until Cole started to just…talk to him. Chat with him, about whatever. Agreeing to Etchinson's every word, the kid thought it sucked to be badgered at all the time. To have someone like Lionel to go at him whenever they saw each other. Cole's been his only friend in this. Everyone else jumped the bandwagon and ridiculed, as if they knew better.

Selfishly walking through, killing the angles.

Picking and choosing to screw all of us one by one…

Charlie ran quickly back to the hotel, and changed into his uniform. This was something different. A mission, a real one, and not some boring lookout mission like he was stuck doing yesterday. Nothing of a labor chore, like passing boxes and cleaning up the smelly wreckage of Deling's Gate. A real, kill-or-be-killed mission! Maybe this was Etchinson's day to shine and make room for a change. He'd have to do something to make mostly all the soldiers of all ranks see him differently. That he always wasn't such a screw up. Oh yeah, this eager man hadn't been so excited over anything in his whole career as a soldier, so far.

He left, and met the Elite with the rest of the low ranked, blue uniformed soldiers like Charlie himself. The Elite who assigned them, what was his name? Jared… Jared something. "Listen up, because I'm only going to explain this once. You'd better have your ears cleaned by now because I'm _NOT_ going to wait on you to do so, is that clear!" Jared barked at him and the rest in blue. "SIR, YES SIR!" Charlie and the other low rankers exclaimed simultaneously at him, alert and ready. "Very good," Jared said, grinning. His helmet, like all the others that all soldiers worn, was big and created a shadow over Jared's eyes. The Galbadian government thought this would be good, to intimidate their enemies.

"There's a rental car waiting for all of us. One of you soldiers is going to drive us to Balamb Town to threaten at least one of those Hyne damned SeeDs! Our head commandos recently discovered that the mother of one of our suspects, Mr. Zell Dincht, lives there…" Jared paced, looking directly into the faces of his small troopers with his dark brown eyes of steel. The Elite was a real tough, hard-as-nails type of guy. _Like Bastard Lionel,_ Charlie thought. "We'll need him alive. DON'T kill either of them unless I tell you to. Understood!" "SIR, YES SIR!" yelled Etchinson and the others, standing tensed up in a straight line, side by side.

Wait a minute, _Mrs. Kathy Dincht_! Charlie knew this kind woman, from a long while back. They were friends and neighbors. Her little boy, Zell, was adopted. Etchinson suddenly remembered that little boy. In a way, he felt sorry for Kathy. The son grew up to be part of the little band of captors, holding Edea Sorceress somewhere. Possibly inside Balamb Garden? Surely, the kids were smart to not keep her held captive in the town, or else Edea would've busted out of there with her magic and gone back to the G-Army.

Nodding, the Elite whose first name was Jared (Charlie still trying to recall his last name) said, "Let's move out!"

****

So run, make amends…

Feeling torn? Boy, you better be sure…

In the gray rental car, Etchinson sat in the back, as low rank G-Army soldier Holden drove the car. Jared sat in the passenger seat. The other two, Devaz and Carson, sat with Charlie, giving him a hard time.

"So, you gonna go head on, or run away like a choboco with its head cut off?" That was Devaz. Carson and Holden snickered and chuckled all around. "Shut up back there!" barked Jared. "This isn't a goddamn middle school field trip! You're men, soldiers. Start acting like it!"

Etchinson liked this Jared guy, because he didn't seem to be on the ridicule bandwagon right now. He was at peace, for once, because no one said anything to him during the rest of the long drive to Balamb Town.

As they pulled in past through the town's entrance, Jared ordered Holden to park the car. "Alright, MOVE! Devaz, go to Mrs. Dincht's home!" "Sir yes sir!" Devaz said all too quickly and hauled ass. Jared turned to Charlie, yelling, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, Etchinson! Go make yourself useful! GO!"

Charlie ran, obeying, pushing past through some of the Balamb civilians that were staring. His metal gray boots clamped and pounded against the blue and white design cobblestones that hadn't been changed in years, since the last time Charlie visited. He didn't want to make himself a disgrace to his country anymore. Today, he was going to come out of the mission as a new man.


	20. Ambush

****

And I'm BACK with another good and exciting chapter! First, to clear things up with one of my reviewers…

KamiKaze no Kage: I think there's only the mom in my story… Mr. Dincht, uh, he's not going to be mentioned I think. In my mind's eye, for the Dincht family it's just Ma Dincht and Zell. Let's just say the foster parents live far from each other, divorced. And the other thing…about my character. Ya think they'd suspect she'd be from another world? Nah, that's the very last thing on their minds. They don't know what happened to Sorceress Edea at all. They're just the big fat mess Ultimecia left behind. Plus, I like the idea of Marianne being in the middle of a little war. Hehe, surprised I haven't thought about it when first writing this story.

Lyrics: "Seven" by Revis, off their self titled album

Chapter 20: Ambush

****

It's all over, it's all over now...

Quistis Trepe pulled out of the Balamb Garden parking lot, driving one of the vans that were purchased and provided for the need of transportation from there to Balamb Town to catch a train, by Cid Kramer and NORG, when he still was around, acting like he owned everything in and around Garden. It was intended to be used for transporting SeeD cadets to Balamb Town for Field Exams. There were up to three vans parked inside the large garage, which had plenty of spaces to park rental cars. Quistis must have known that Mr. Kramer wouldn't mind if she took one of them, for it was absolutely necessary. The next train to Esthar would be departing very shortly from Balamb Town, so they had to hurry.

Quistis drove. Zell Dincht leaned back in the passenger seat, arms crossed behind his head, eyes drifting to stare out the window, not paying attention to the scenery, which was nothing special. Just lots of grass and the occasional Bite Bugs, zooming by in the air in a big blur. The rear view mirror to the left of him showed the bushy trees of a small forest, which were a few miles in the opposite direction of they were going. Dincht was deep in his thoughts. Selphie Timlitt sat in the back, but he didn't look at her. The three didn't speak, for they'd probably do that on the train, maybe. Or so Zell thought. Maybe Quistis and Selphie, like him, were still absorbing the information that was read from the newspaper. This was dead serious, and nothing they'd want to discuss, for the trio knew what was going on. It was surprising that Selphie didn't cheer him and the ex-instructor on to remain positive about this.

Jeez! Galbadian soldiers were stomping all over Gala to kick their asses. They could be _ANYWHERE!_ Probably there was a platoon up ahead, waiting for them in Balamb, his hometown. _No, my ma could be in danger, knowing those G-Army pricks know about me!_ Zell thought, _and it's all because of me._ Dincht uncrossed his arms to his sides, hands clutching into trembling fists. If he hadn't let the words "SeeD" and "Balamb Garden" slip off his tongue, from back during that live TV broadcast in Deling City, then no one would've been in danger as much as they were now. Yes, he remembered the shocked and scared, alarmed expression on Selphie's face. Squall put his hand to his forehead before giving Zell a scowl. Seifer yelled and swore at him. But he couldn't help it. Whenever he got excited or angry, or just plain rowdy, the energy would spark off of him like a bunch of fireworks, blasting off into a starry night sky. There's usually no way to control that. Zell couldn't help it, being who he was!

He heard and felt a sigh, vibrating all throughout his mind. _"Again?"_ snapped Shiva, sounding annoyed. _You know it's my Hyne damn fault, Shiva,_ Zell said back to his Guardian Force, through his depressed and angry thoughts. _Marianne wouldn't be so scared and shit as it is. "You wouldn't have known she would come to our world in the first place. You can't blame yourself over that,"_ she elaborated for him. _"Stop beating yourself up about it! If you care about this girl as much as I believe you do, then go to Esthar with your two friends. Protect her from those enemies. Let that mistake go. Let the past be the past."_

****

The seal is broken. The creature's spoken now...

Speaking of those "enemies," Zell had something to share with her about them. _They think she's a criminal, goddammit! They don't know crap about her. Nothing. And thinking about what they could do to her scares me to death! Those good-for-nothing, power hungry, lowlife dickheads!_

For a time now, Shiva had to put up with this human. It's been about her fifth day, and sometimes she was pressed to give Zell a brain freeze to get him to calm down from being too hyperactive, but the ice spirit only felt that was really needed unless she was disrespected or furious. She had the power to do it, but never had felt the need to do this with Zell. He was a very bright, courteous, and caring human, and Shiva understood how he felt about the Earth girl. So quickly, he's understood and began to form a good bond of friendship. Shiva wasn't pleased at all about this situation either. Sorceress Edea's tools had been neglected and left unattended. She had a little bit of compassion, making her somewhat similar to Quezacotl. Only, she was tough and not so gentle on her past life partners over the last several years, and Zell was no exception.

****

I hope you come up to heaven right now.

It's all over, it's all over now...

Zell couldn't just share this with Shiva now. He wanted to know if he wasn't the only one who felt these things. His face began to turn red. "We can't let the entire world see Marianne as a criminal," he managed to say, calmly as he could. He forced the calm, and knew it by heart that he wanted to go kick some G-Army soldier ass, RIGHT NOW. ...Damn, he couldn't control the fury anymore!

****

Can I be changed?

Or am I the same...?

"It's not right, man! It's not right for an innocent person like that to be so damn scared all the time!" "We all feel the same way, Zell," Quistis told him, sounding as if she agreed with every word that Dincht said. She focused on the road, but as he looked to one of his former teachers, (damn, he still couldn't believe a good teacher like Quistis had been fired) the side of her face showed determination. A little bit of sunlight gave to showing a glare spot on Trepe's thin framed glasses. Balamb Town was up ahead, but still kinda far away. "But what can we do? No one is going to believe her story." "They'll take her to some loony bin," provided Selphie, and Dincht felt her arm pat on his left shoulder. "Don't worry Zell. We'll show 'em."

Selphie's words and confidence were back. Zell had been starting to think something was terribly wrong with her. He felt ready, more than ready.

"But let's focus on the mission at hand here," Quistis spoke up. "Which of Marianne's ideas would work better? Hmm," Selphie said, making Zell go into thought too. "I think...the space station, maybe. I mean, it's easy," Zell said, really thinking about the space travel suggestion. "Take a rocket with plenty of fuel and we'll get Marianne back home and stop the sorceress in no time!"

Before meeting Marianne, nobody from Balamb Garden even _knew_ that the city of Esthar even existed. When the Guardian Forces showed it to them, it was a very beautiful city, and very lively. Sparkling buildings, technology advanced beyond their time with high speed transport cars. There was also the space station, and the touch screen computers for some shops at the humongous mall. Their commander and good friend, Squall Leonhart, made this mission seem nothing too special out of the ordinary, but it _was_. This new, futuristic city felt like a whole new adventure for them. While over in Esthar, why do a little bit of sight seeing too?

"But we don't know how far Earth is," Quistis countered. "Or if it's still there." "OF COURSE Earth has to be still there!" Zell exclaimed, not believing his ears. _Damn, Quistis! You're starting to sound like Squall!_ "Sorceress Edea can't just make her home planet blow into a bunch of space dust!" "No way!" Selphie responded, almost too eagerly. "She can't have the power to that. It's impossible!" "Zell, calm down. I didn't say Earth was...what you just told me," Quistis said uneasily. "Yeah, okay," Dincht replied, calming down indeed. "I'm not real sure if Dr. Odine could help, or if he would be _willing_ to help us. But hey, we gotta try anyway, right?" "Right!" answered Selphie.

__

"And if both plans fail..." Shiva said, pointing out the worst of all possibilities. In having to share his own brain with this GF, Zell knew she'd always do that. _No, we can't fail,_ he argued. _"But Marianne didn't sound too sure of herself on this, did she?"_

This made Zell let out a sound in exasperation. "First, Quistis, now Shiva," he grumbled. "What?" Selphie quirked. "Shiva says that Marianne's not sure on how everything will work out." "I don't think anyone of us feels one hundred percent sure anything will work," Quistis stated, her foot applying slight pressure on the gas pedal to pick up speed a little.

This was bogus stuff to talk about, Zell realized. Talking about other worlds and realities, space, and apocalypses made sounded like something a person of a high IQ would talk about. Fiction becoming real adding to that list of bogusness...

Soon, they were proceeding to Balamb Town. "Oh great," Quistis groaned as Zell also saw him. A Galbadian Soldier was holding out a hand, signaling for Trepe to stop the van. Dincht's hands were clenched fists again, ready to kick some ASS with his blue and black fingerless gloves with little metal plates attached as to where the knuckles would be. Selphie began to be awfully quiet in the back again.

"Zell, don't do anything yet," Quistis told him tersely as she slowed down the van to a crawl, then made a complete stop as the low ranked, blue uniformed G-Army soldier stepped to be next to the driver's side of the vehicle. Quistis began to roll down her window. On second thought, the look on the soldier's face told the trio that possibly all G-Army soldiers would be able to recognize them now. "Shit," Trepe said in a low voice, took her hand off the window button, and jammed her left foot on the gas pedal. SCREEEEECH! The tires screamed, and went forward within a few seconds, chewing and spitting out the bright green grass, and dirt, soiling the man's uniform.

"GODDAMN," Zell roared, pounding his right fist on the car door beside them. They weren't going to be safe anywhere, anymore, unless their destination was empty of Galbadian soldiers. He didn't know for sure, and knew the others would feel the same way. This was their first trip to Esthar. Dincht saw the soldier behind them on the rear view mirror for just a moment. He was shaking his fist and it looked like he was yelling and cursing, but the windows were pretty much sound proof, which would mean the glass could not break easily. To the trio, this was a good thing. The problem was that they'd have to get out of the minivan, because no way could they drive it into the train without causing damage.

In the middle of the cobble stoned ground, Quistis was doing her best to brake as a mix of the enemy and innocent civilians immediately ran out of her way. "Whoooooa," yelled Selphie, before the van swerved to the side and came to a complete halt. Trepe shifted the gear to park and turned the engine off. "That was AWESOME," shouted Zell, smiling big at Quistis, whose faced just flushed a shade of pink as they quickly unfastened their seatbelts. It wasn't usually like Quistis to drive like THAT. "Woohoo! That was fun," Selphie said, and then got out Morning Star.

G-Army soldiers surrounded the parked van, getting out guns and swords. "FREEZE," screamed one of them. "Put your weapons down and raise your hands behind your head! You're under-" "Hey!" Selphie interrupted, weapon ready, eyes searching for which man it was who was speaking to them. "You don't know who you're talking to. You think won't try to put up a fight first?" Zell was already in fighting stance, and picked the closest opponent to pound on. Quistis quickly unleashed her modified whip, cracking the air with it as it slid untangled and free from around one of her arms. An instant later, their fight for survival had begun. Outnumbered, but they hoped luck was on their side…

Winston Devaz ran past his fellow men on the streets, keeping watch for any of the suspects if they dared to come across. His mission was assigned to get Zell Dincht's foster mother. Her residence wouldn't be hard to find because their last name, then first names were marked on the outside of their homes. "Dincht, Catherine," was what Devaz had seen, and opened the door without any hassle. The woman was inside after all. No time for stopping to look at his surroundings, the Dincht residence was a small home, but cozy enough to just sit back and watch television in. Dincht wasn't too far away at all, and just within clear sight, one foot away at a stove, with a pot on top of it. The kitchen wasn't a separate room, but the counters almost made it like that, providing two ways to get in. Two "doorways," the counters being the kitchen's low "walls."

Without saying a word, the man dashed towards the woman, who looked pretty enough. Her hair was very curly and sandy blonde, pulled back in a big and long pony tail. Didn't look old but not exactly real young either. "What in the world-" Mrs. Dincht began to yell as she rested one hand on the lid of the pot. Before he let her say anything, Devaz grabbed her arm, bumping his elbow into the pot. Boiling hot water spilled on the sleeve of his military jacket, causing him to curse and shout in pain, but he didn't release Catherine Dincht.

"Let go of me this instant, or I'll have to call the authorities!" she cried, afraid as hostile Galbadian low rank officer pulled her body close to his. Whoever this man was, he was very strong. His dark tannish features were in a fury over had just happened to him. Grasping a tight grip on her with one arm, he pulled out a small knife from his pants' back pocket with the other. "You will come out with me calmly and quietly, or I swear to Hyne I'll…" He didn't finish his sentence as the soldier hustled her out of her own home. "You can't do this! I have a son, and what if he finds out I'm not in there?" she demanded, trying to break free of this madman. "You're son is what we want," he hissed as he continued to force the both of them to walk.

The neighbors outside, attending to their sweeping or to pick up the morning people were witnessing the scene as their loving friend Kathy was in the clutches of their enemy. The other soldiers around stood tense, long and hard metal sticks out to beat the sense out of any of those who'd try to stop Devaz, who was yelling at Mrs. Dincht to keep moving.

"What do you want with my son? Tell me why you want my Zell!" the demanding woman said. Devaz supplied the answer his mouth curled into a smirk. "Your son, Mrs. Dincht, is one of the members of a resistance against the entire world. He's partially responsible for the kidnapping of Sorceress Edea." He heard Catherine Dincht gasp. One of his smoky gray gloved hands gripped onto her ponytail. "Cooperate, and I may not have to kill you…"

****

It's all over, it's all over now.

No room for hiding. We're children fighting now…

The fight was nasty and merciless. Fireballs and other magic flew at the G-Army soldiers or the perpetrators every now and then. The tall woman with the whip had struck, causing one or two men to yelp and clutch at their sore arms, or to put one hand over the red bleeding lines on their faces. The shorter girl in the light blue tank top and tan shorts cast Fira or attacked with the nunchakus she carried over her shoulder.

One soldier stood at a distance, his eyes searching for his prey. Nine years ago, he saw this boy, at the age of eight. He must have gotten the tattoo when he was in his early teens or something. And soon enough, he spotted him, moving like a kung fu champion, slamming a gloved fist into an Elite Soldier, whose mouth came away bloody. Dincht happened to knock out a few of this guy's teeth. He then leg swept another low ranker, and leaped back as the next closest low ranker tried to slice at Zell with his blade.

"ZELL DINCHT!" Charlie Etchinson called over the battle as the blonde spiky haired punk stopped after snapping the neck of one of his fellow men. A sickening crack of bones let loose in sound as the body became limp. "Huh? Who said that?" Dincht wondered as he released as the soldier who was dropped on his side, his head turned in an unnatural position…dead. The two young women around him stopped too, their eyes searching for the man who knew the young man's name.

He'd only been seventeen, nine years ago, living down the street from the Dincht residence for some time. Charlie was only a teenager when he first moved in and got to meet these kind folks. As Charlie began to remember Zell, he recalled him about being adopted by age seven, as to what Kathy Dincht had told him. Zell as the little boy was very hyperactive, and took an interest in martial arts. Taught by his grandfather. Charlie already knew all of this, only it was pushed to the back of his mind for all these years away from Balamb. _Home sweet home, eh,_ he thought in sarcasm. A part of Etchinson pitied the boy, and felt worse for Kathy.

"You're hurting me! Let GO!" Charlie heard and recognized that voice. He turned to see Devaz, part shoving, and part dragging Mrs. Kathy Dincht, who hadn't changed a bit. Looked basically the same and hadn't aged too much, except for a few face wrinkles.

"MA! NO! Let go of her or I'm gonna have to kick your ass!" Zell yelled at Devaz all too quickly. Etchinson smirked, the kind of smirk that Seifer Almasy would give. "Still full of energy as always," Charlie said, his voice to a mocking tone. The soldiers clustered all around the three kids gaped and stared, not believing this. Charlie Etchinson _knows_ Zell Dincht? "Who the hell are YOU?" Zell demanded, as Etchinson paced a few steps to the side, his boots slowly clomping on the cobble stones, kicking a few loose without really intending to.

"Don't remember? I wouldn't be surprised," Charlie said, pride swelling within, feeling it in his chest. This was his moment, and nobody was spoiling it. "It was nine years ago. I was a tad shorter, and less stockier of a build. We were neighbors." "Whoever you are," the tall woman with the blonde hair started to intrude. "You will-" "Shut up, bitch," Etchinson snarled. Who the fuck did she think she was, interrupting in his glorious moment? "HEY! You can't talk to Quistis that way," Zell raged, his face turning red, body trembling. It was a funny sight to see, for Etchinson. He didn't know Zell had gotten such a temper over the years. Etchinson stifled the laugh, though.

A familiar Elite stepped up. The chest area of his armor had been slightly scorched, but what caused him to limp was a wounded leg. Blood was slowly seeping out into the open, staining the ground and making a crimson trail as he walked. "Etchinson, what the hell are you doing? You know that boy?" Jared, his superior on this mission, called. Etchinson never took his eyes from Zell for long, his lime green eyes laughing at him.

"Just step off, you big meanies!" said the short girl as the circle of mostly lower ranks and a few Elites didn't widen. Didn't move an inch.

****

I hope you come up to heaven right now.

It's all over, it's all over now…

What the… That soldier prick with the green eyes used to be a NEIGHBOR? "Whoever the fuck you are, you're not a neighbor anymore," Zell spat. "You don't belong here!" Shiva took this moment to cut in the middle of the tension between the two. _"Summon me. It'll cause the less damage."_ _Right!_ Zell closed his eyes as the men started to approach him and his friends cautiously. He remembered what Shiva looked like. There was an accurate portrait in a school textbook that he used to have before becoming a SeeD. Whenever it came time to summoning, he remembered this picture.

With the image imprinted, the air around Zell became cold as his eyes remained shut tightly. He opened his eyes a few seconds later to see the ice spirit, standing among him, Quistis, and Selphie like a normal human being…and not wearing much clothing. The ground beneath her feet had frozen into ice, and slowly began to spread out in all directions. Shiva looked at the G-Army soldiers in disgust. _"Ultimecia's unattended puppets,"_ she commented dully. And they were. If the sorceress even cared about these men, she would take them to Earth with her. But that would be unlike the devil woman. She cared for no one. Only but herself.

****

The rain is falling, the rain is falling now…

Suddenly, sprinkling light rain started to pitter patter on the cobble stones and land on the still humanoid forms' clothing, or to bounce off the bodies. The light rain cloud that past through Deling had past to Balamb Town, yet to pass over Balamb Garden. Thinking quickly as the G-Army soldiers decided to attack again, the rain was a big advantage to Shiva, since she had this easy ability to manipulate water to turn to ice in anyway she pleased. A gift since birth, way before any of these humans' first descendants were born.

The light rain droplets formed into large, thick ice spears, becoming a _real_ deadly version of the Diamond Dust attack, one of Shiva's original specialties to help the side of good. Mrs. Dincht took the time to break free of Winston Devaz's grip to reunite with Zell, which was a safer place to be. She slipped on the ice and fell hard on her side next to her brave son, who helped her get back up again. A lot of the G-Army soldiers in the circle began to disperse, running away from the icicle pillars of death. The civilian spectators fled to their homes, scared out of their minds. Never in the history of Balamb Town had anything gotten way out of hand like _this_!

Charlie Etchinson saw it coming. Devaz was about to become pulverized! He dove, using the ice beneath him to slide and knock his fellow squad member to the ground. The ice spear went through Etchinson's leg, before breaking apart into several pieces. One big piece remained imbedded in his right shin, near the foot, causing immense pain. The ice storm didn't stop from there, not until most of the G-Army soldiers made enough room for Zell and his friends to run to catch that train in time. If they didn't make it, Shiva assumed, then they'd have a bit of a wait before the next train came along.

Devaz yanked Charlie away, indebted to him, a life saved for another to be saved. He saw their squad leader, flat on his back, a huge ice spear lodging straight into his gut. "Go," Jared told the soldier. His voice cracked, his strength weakening due to the pool of blood surrounding him He wasn't going to make it. Devaz nodded, unable to give a final salute because both of his arms were dragging a cursing, injured comrade away. Impressed to know one of the criminals, Devaz would make sure to break the news to the head commanders of the Galbadian army.

The ice storm came to an abrupt halt, with just the rain falling, landing and bouncing off the ice to land close to the next drop, becoming frozen with the ice pond created by Shiva by just standing next to the humans she helped the other Guardian Forces watch over. Her light blue lips turned into a small smile, looked to Zell, and dissolved into an ice mist, surging back into his mind to be summoned again another time.

"What's going on! I read the papers-" Mrs. Dincht started to say. Zell loved his mother with all his heart, but didn't have the damn time for this. "Get out of here, ma! Go back to the house!" he said. "It's not safe here! We'll talk again real soon!" He made his voice loud and clear over the fleeing soldiers, yelling for medics and random cursings and other voices that made such a racket.

****

Today we're leaving. Our souls are calling out…

Dincht watched as his mom fought to keep balance and ran towards safety, having no choice but to go back home. Zell couldn't stand to see her get shot, or whatever else might happen if she hadn't hauled outta there. "SHIT, the train!" he realized, mentally kicking himself in the ass repeatedly as he began to head towards the station, Quistis Trepe and Selphie Timlitt right behind him. They left the previous little battle field, a few soldiers impaled, dying or already dead from Shiva's Diamond Dust attack. Bullets zipped and whizzed by as they ran. BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM! BLAM, BLAM! It was a mixture of automatic and small handheld weapons as the little metal swarm ricocheted and bounced off of the cobble stones. Zell loudly hissed as a bullet stung his right shoulder.

Too late! By the time the trio reached the station, the train was moving several feet away from them, and at a speed increasing from twenty miles per hour to forty miles per hour. "No!" cried Quistis, over the noise of the shooting and the train's whistle.

****

Stars on his right, holding seven right now.

The rain is falling, the rain is falling now…

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" roared a voice. It sounded close by to Zell, Quistis, and Selphie. They turned to face a tall low ranked soldier. This guy looked big and the seven silver stars going down in short horizontal rows of two were on the right side of his jacket. This G-Army soldier was a high rank, it seemed. "I think you kids have gone far enough," he growled. "You're under arrest for the kidnapping of Sorceress Edea." "WE DON'T HAVE HER!" Quistis screamed at his face, scared and upset at the same time. Her emotions were getting to her right at that moment. "She's not on the same planet anymore! Why don't you leave us alone!" She felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder. Trepe turned her head and saw Selphie. "You heard her," she heard Zell yell, who ignored the bullet's little but nasty bite on his shoulder and upper arm. "She's not here! Fuck off and look somewhere else!"

The soldier shook his head, his mouth grinning under his helmet in amusement. Left and right, the G-Army started to surround the group again. "I've HAD it with you people!" Zell yelled, pissed off no doubt. The group clashed, without anymore hesitation. Immensely outnumbered once again, the SeeDs of Balamb Garden bravely fought. Quistis struck with her whip. Selphie spun and hit at the soldiers nearby her, concentrating halfway in retaliating Fire and Fira spells. Zell moved fast, throwing his own martial combinations here and there. He uppercut one soldier, targeting his fist to connect to the chin. That guy sprawled on the ground, unconscious as the next blue uniformed attacker came straight for him. He'd attack up to three at a time.

By the next several minutes, more of the G-Army soldiers were beaten, their uniforms emerging holes from the burns inflicted. Quistis had been nicked a little on the arms from the blades the soldiers carried. Selphie was lucky and didn't have a scratch on her, due to her smart strategy that she and her GF, Ifrit, must have settled down on together. Zell had been slightly bruised from the retaliating fits from those goddamn Galbadians.

It's all over, it's all over now.

No room for hiding. We're children fighting now.

I hope you come up to heaven right now.

It's all over, it's all over now…

The leader of the attackers had been beaten, just like his fellow soldiers. He tried to get at the three nuisances one at a time, but to no avail. "YA WANT SOME MORE?" the blonde spiky haired punk named Zell Dincht roared his eyes glaring into his. His voice erupted out like the roar of a tiger, wanting to break out of its cage.

The rain continued to tickle their faces, twisted into angry and steamed expressions. No one moved, but breathed heavily, exhausted. A few more casualties grew among the Galbadian troops. For kids, they were tough. "…Fall back," the soldier with the silver stars ordered. He pointed a finger at the suspected criminals. Zell shook his head. "Get your Hyne damn ears cleaned! Didn't you hear what Quistis said?" The soldier glared wearily at the blonde girl who lost her temper towards him. He nodded. "I heard what she said." The tough guy continued to back away. "…Doesn't mean that I don't think it's utter bullshit." "Believe it or not, it happened," Quistis said, voice dangerously low. "Your sorceress is a _coward_. She disappeared, bringing and leaving a girl behind here, not of this world. She doesn't want to be found." The silver star marked soldier turned and walked off, waving away her statement like it was nothing. Dismissing it.

Glaring at the man's light retreating form, Trepe's vision blurred. Fresh tears rolled down her face. "Fuckin' moron," Zell huffed, beaten and tired it looked like. His glaring stare softened a tad, in turning to Quistis and Selphie. "Let's go to ma's house for a bit. I think she deserves to know the truth. We could rest up and use Cure spells over there too." Trepe nodded silently.

They began to walk away from the train station. As they did, the soldiers still around muttered to them threatening statements. "We'll get you next time…" "You brats got lucky." "Hmph, traitors…" "…Damn traitors of the world."

__

Yeah, go on ahead and think that, Zell said to them silently as he didn't return their tired but angry stares. _"Let it go, Zell,"_ Shiva said to him softly. _"Just let it go…"_

Quistis gripped onto her whip tightly. Rain drops touched and mixed in with some of the blood that trickled down from the cuts on her arms. Diablos, crabby in her mind, didn't understand why she kept disagreeing to summon him during the battle that just ended. _"Be sure to do so next time,"_ he said, grumpily and threatening towards the opposing army. _"I'll make their souls scream."_ Trepe ignored him. Diablos sighed. _"I understand you're upset, but you can't tell them everything." I KNOW!_ she snapped. _Do you think I'm stupid? I wouldn't betray Marianne like that! Knowing me, being in my head for days, you should know that._ _"Yes, but I didn't think you were at full self control from before,"_ the Guardian of Gravity pointed out.

He was right. Quistis had lost her composure for a moment. It was human of her to do so. The poor, innocent soul known as Marianne was caught in the middle of this, and she couldn't have it. She was a nice girl, and no where _near_ to being a criminal. Was it so wrong to try and give those ignorant, brutal men a hint of the truth? Of what their leader really thought of them now? _They must think I'm crazy,_ Trepe thought to herself, about the G-Army soldiers that tried to arrest them. Of course, they wouldn't easily believe it. She would have told them the whole truth if she could, if it wasn't so upsetting.

"You okay?" Quistis was broken from her train of thought by Selphie. She wrapped an arm around the shorter girl, saying through her tears, "I'll be fine." Zell walked ahead of them, fists shaking at his sides. He must have heard them, because he started to speak again. "We can't stay here for very long, and we have to make sure they won't touch my mom again," he said, dead serious. This wasn't like Zell, Quistis observed. It wasn't like him to be so grim. Yet, he said one last thing: "We're _going_ to drive those Galbadian bastards out of this town. And _then_ we'll hop on the next train to Esthar."

"It'll take too long," Selphie said, breaking away a moment's silence. "I don't care how long it takes," Dincht snapped, turning his head. "They need to evacuate their asses outta my hometown!" "Selphie's right. This isn't part of our mission," Quistis said, in more self control that before. "For the better of those we love, we'll have to leave in the next few hours, right after we rest up and explain everything to your mother."

No one said anything after that. They paid no attention to the soldiers they injured, getting medical attention, walking in the light rain towards Zell's house, which was only a five minute walk from the train station…

Etchinson watched them walk past him. _Go on ahead and walk, while you still can. Zell, you and your friends haven't seen the last of me._ "…You did good," Devaz managed to say, kneeling next to him as one other low ranked soldier attended to Charlie's leg. "Thanks," breathed a response from him. It hurt when the medic yanked out the icicle. Like hell it did. Still hurt with the bandage on. _Next time, instead of attacking,_ he thought, _We'll just arrest them. Yeah, we'll get them. Another day, another time._ At least this soldier made a difference. He wasn't going to be seen as a screw up for much longer.

Now, he had to get his ass back to Deling and make a report of the attack, and help estimate in the number of casualties. That way they would catch the criminals, knowing to gain more firepower from the experience from the mistakes the army has made. It was vital to the government that these kids were brought _alive_. Especially Marianne, whose last name remained unknown. Charlie knew this for sure. The military weren't going to quit until they got at least one of the young gang to interrogate with at least, and _then_ possibly kill the kid for treason, for that was the penalty for that. Eventually, all of them would be sentenced to death. 

Back to the scene of where the Diamond Dust attack took place, the Balamb Police Department began to clean up the bodies. The GF attack had come and gone too quickly, also to mention to dangerous. They knew better than the G-Army to mess with one of Hyne's special, supernatural children. The blood from the dead bodies connected to create a bigger puddle, as these men radioed for the cleaners. Some reporters got out of their temporary shelters from the battle to report what they saw. It was to be on television, and in tomorrow's paper.


End file.
